Portledge School Lady Panthers: 2010 NYSAISAA Girls Lacrosse Champions
June 1, 2010
(Portledge, N.Y.)-Life can be disappointing at times, but oddly enough, a good deal of how a person is measured depends on how he or she deals with disappointment.
In the spring of 2009, the Portledge Varsity Girls Lacrosse team had a great deal of disappointment with which to deal. They had just lost the New York State Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association (NYSAISAA) championship game to the girls from the Hackley School by one goal in double overtime. It was a crushing blow as no Portledge team had ever played for a state title before, and with the graduation of two key midfielders, Siena Falino and Alex Siwiec, it looked as if this might have been the Portledge girls best, and last, chance to accomplish this dream.
What the lacrosse world didn’t know at that time, however, was the resolve of this group of Lady Panther players. Led by a group of seven seniors, in particular by All American hopeful Addie Reilly, this team fully committed itself to again reaching the NYSAISAA championship game, and making sure that they came away as victors. As early as the summer of 2009, and through the winter when many of the girls played on various outdoor and indoor teams, the goal was always to get back to the NYSAIS Championship and win it. In early March 2010, the team was off to Florida for a week of hard practice, competition against top teams from around the country, and general team bonding. By the time they returned to Long Island, they were a unit that was verging on sisterhood. Their goal was clear and focused on fulfilling their dream.
The Lady Panthers made their way through a challenging regular season schedule that included games against many top private and parochial schools, resulting in 13 wins and 2 losses. This earned them the second seed in the 2010 NYSAISAA Girls Lacrosse Championship Tournament, but it came along with a difficult draw that would see them prevail in two extremely close games in the quarterfinals and semis. The Lady Panthers’ opponents in these fierce contests were the Horace Mann School and the Riverdale Country School, which they beat by scores of 15-13 and 14-13 respectively. Meanwhile, the Portledge girls’ arch rivals, the Hackley Hornets, were marching through the other side of tournament. Thus, the stage was set for the ultimate game. Not only had the Portledge team made it back to the Championship game, but they had a chance to knock off the team that had denied them a year ago.
As the game began things did not look good for the Lady Panthers. Hackley scored on their first two possessions to take an early 2-0 lead. Everything seemed to change as the Portledge team proceeded to put on a clinic of how to play the various elements of the game. Offensively, Reilly led the way with five goals, while underclassmen Martine Krown ‘12 and Cecilia “Ceci” Mulry ‘13 played excellent attack setting Reilly up and scoring a few each themselves. At the other end, the Portledge defense, anchored by freshman goalie Erin Brand ‘13 was outstanding, consistently frustrating the Hackley offense. Finally, there was the remarkable play of senior midfielders Chelsea Caracciolo ‘10 and Claudia Rogers ‘10, who controlled the flow of the game throughout with beautiful transition passes. In the end, it was Portledge that ran out the clock with a 10-6 lead as the horn sounded and the celebration began.
This team gave themselves to what many might have thought was an insurmountable challenge. On reflection, we saw a group of girls who rose from disappointment and defeat to achieve their dream, while thoroughly enjoying the journey.
Photo:Left to right, Coaches and several members of the Portledge Lady Panthers Championship Team, all seniors graduating this June. Coaches Katie Henry (left) and Jon Sandos (right - Portledge ‘03), flanking Akanksha Trivedi, Robyn Worrall, Chelsea Caracciolo, Addie Reilly, Claudia Rogers, Monique Kelly, and Elizabeth Girgenti.
Posted by News LI Editor · Filed Under Sports
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