NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - After amassing winning records during a stellar regular season, both North Salem lacrosse squads entered the playoffs looking to make noise in the sectional tournament.
Unfortunately, a deep postseason run wasn’t in the cards as the boys team was upended in a thriller against Croton-Harmon and the girls team fell against Irvington.
Girls Lacrosse
Highland 12, North Salem 7
Saturday, May 10
The Tigers took a tough loss at home, but the real winner was the OneLove Foundation as the game managed to raise more than $2,000 for the national nonprofit aimed at ending relationship abuse.
Abby Cassidy led the offense with a hat tick, while Ashley Cindrich added a pair and Taylor Fogle and Emma Greenberg both scored for North Salem.
North Salem 21, Pawling 16
Tuesday, May 13
The squad quickly bounced back the following week, coming out on top of a slugfest with their rival Tigers. Cindrich (7 goals, 2 assists), Noemi Torres (6 goals, 3 assists), Sydney Merriman (4 goals), Kylie Robinson (3 goals), Fogle (1 goal, 2 assists) and Cassidy (1 assist) all getting in on the action. Ruby Molina had 6 draw controls, and Maja Olsson (3 saves) and Kylie Dell (4 saves) helped propel the Tigers to a big league win.
Wappingers 19, North Salem 11
Wednesday, May 14
The Tigers couldn’t keep things rolling on the road. Torres and Cassidy had four goals each in the effort.
Carmel 12, North Salem 8
Monday, May 19
North Salem dropped the regular season finale to the Rams at home.
Cindrich, Greenberg, and Sienna Paldin each scored a pair to keep the squad within striking distance.
North Salem 16, Dobbs Ferry 4
Thursday, May 22
After amassing a 10-5 regular season record, the Tigers entered the playoffs as the #5 seed, hosting #12 seeded Dobbs Ferry.
North Salem quickly shook off the regular season losses and kicked the offense into gear, downing the Eagles behind standout performances from Cindrich (6 goals), Torres (3 goals), Fogle (2 goals, 1 assist), and Cassidy (2 goals). Paldin, Merriman, and Robinson also added a goal each. Dell had three saves in goal.
Putting an exclamation point on the win was junior midfielder Noemi Torres, who notched both her 100th point and 100th draw control for her career at North Salem.
Irvington 13, North Salem 6
Tuesday, May 27
The Tigers’ playoff campaign hit a roadblock against the #4 seeded Bulldogs. Torres and Cindrich each netted a pair of goals as they attempted to keep the season alive.
The squad will now lose seniors Samantha Yoel, Nicky Berganza, Taylor Fogle, Sophia Aversano, and Ruby Molina to graduation.
Boys Lacrosse
Haldane 13, North Salem 8
Tuesday, May 13
The Tigers came up short against the Blue Devils on the road. Dillon Coughlan (3 goals), Max Cotrone (2 goals, 2 assists), Isaac Rouse (1 goal, 1 assist), Justin Major (1 goal, 1 assist), John Gogo (1 goal), and Drew Karam (1 assist) chipped in for the effort.
North Salem 10, Port Chester 2
Thursday, May 15
The squad didn’t wait to long to bounce back, pounding Port Chester on the road. Nico Rouse and Justin Major led the way with a pair of goals each and Mike Bonelli had 7 saves in goal.
Briarcliff 10, North Salem 3
Friday, May 16
The Tigers didn’t have the answers against the Bears back at home. Bonelli notched 22 saves.
North Salem 21, Dobbs Ferry 8
Monday, May 19
North Salem finished the regular season on a high note behind huge scoring days from Cotrone (8 goals, 2 assists), Coughlan (6 goals, 1 assist), and Major (5 goals).
Croton Harmon 12, North Salem 11 (OT)
Friday, May 23
After racking up a 13-3 record during the regular season, the Tigers kicked off their playoff campaign as the #4 seed, hosting #13 seeded Croton Harmon for a postseason Tiger tussle.
Despite the efforts of Major (5 goals), Coughlan (3 goals, 1 assist), Cotrone (3 goals), and George Naber (2 assists), the visitors pushed North Salem to the brink, eventually netting the game winner in overtime.
With the playoff push coming to an unexpected end, coach Vin Savastano took time to reflect on his team’s performance and his first season at the helm of the Tigers.
"I have to say this is a toughest team I have ever coached, just a bunch of fierce competitors,” said Savastano. “They know how to compete and they know how to win. They bring it on the field every single game. These kids have a special bond and I was so impressed of how close they are and compete for each other. When I had my first meeting with the team I felt a great vibe in the room. I didn't know what to expect with this program having five coaches in the last six years. We only had two preseason practices and I left there beyond excited. The kids were big and strong and I was impressed with their stick skills. In those two practices, I put in seven plays and they all grasped it very quickly and I was like ‘wow we've got something here.’ The kids brought into what we taught and preached all year and showed such great Improvement individually and as a team. We started out with a 9-0 record, and people were starting to take notice of North Salem lacrosse. These kids earned a 13-4 record the best in school history and I cannot be more proud of them. Losing our last game in OT was heartbreaking but it will never define this great season we've had.”
With the season over, the Tigers will now bid farewell to seniors Justin Major, Malachi Andrews, Mike Bonelli, George Naber, John Gogo, Ryan Vorfi, Dillon Coughlan, Nick Naber, and Jack Fryer.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here