IRVINGTON—Playing the No. 1 team in the state can be a daunting proposition, but Valhalla has been down that road before.
The Vikings upset Spackenkill on Oct. 13, when the Spartans were the top-ranked Class B team in New York. That opened the door for Irvington to take over the No. 1 ranking, but Valhalla showed no intimidation when it met the Bulldogs in Monday’s Class B quarterfinal.
The eighth-seeded Vikings shook up the bracket with a 2-0 win over the previously undefeated top seed, punching their ticket to play No. 4 Rye Neck in the semifinals on Wednesday.
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“We’re the giant slayers,” senior forward Steven Kopicki said. “We all believed that we were going to win and we worked hard in practice to get it done. We stayed focused.”
After an evenly played, scoreless first half, Valhalla (10-5-3) took control to begin the second half.
Craig Pullum found Kopicki on a run, and he buried it in the 42nd minute for a 1-0 lead.
“It was a great build-up play, which we usually do,” Kopicki said. “We believed after that. We knew it.”
In the 62nd minute, Ricky Thomas, who had barely missed two goals wide in the first half, extended the lead to 2-0 with a well-placed shot into the top right corner of the net.
“I knew it was going to come,” Thomas said. “It happened twice (shots that missed wide), but I was just keeping my head up because I knew it would come eventually.”
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With the Vikings sitting on the lead for most of the second half, they were able to keep All-State junior Kaio DaSilva at his natural defensive position.
He played about 10 minutes in the first half at forward, but stayed at center back for the entire second half, and cleared a near-goal from Max Kandler off the goal line in the 73rd minute.
“It was a team effort. We had good players in Kaio, Sam (Gannon) — our whole defense is just phenomenal,” Thomas said. “Kaio is a very good player and we’re grateful to have him, but it’s not just him — it’s a team.”
Irvington (15-1-1) hadn’t played since Oct. 18 after receiving a bye in the first round. The Bulldogs played the final seven minutes down a man after receiving a red card.
“I’m obviously very proud of the boys with the win,” coach Sandro Prosperino said. “But I’m more proud with how they kept their composure playing enemy territory against a great, well-coached, highly ranked team.”
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MONTROSE—Within a span of about five hours, the Class A bracket was turned on its head.
By the time No. 11 Yorktown’s 3-1 win over No. 3 Hen Hud in the Class A quarterfinals went final on Monday night, No. 1 Pearl River and No. 2 Lakeland had already fallen.
Consider the tournament completely up in the air heading into the semis.
“I feel like it’s really wide open,” Yorktown goalkeeper Jacob Braham said. “It’s anyone’s game. You just have to show up, play one game at a time, and the better team will move on.”
The Huskers (10-8-1) are the lowest seed that is still alive, and it’s because they have two key ingredients to postseason success—a versatile scoring attack with a handful of capable finishers and a hot goalie.
“We’re feeling great,” Braham said. “We feel like we peaked at the right time, late in the season, and we’re looking to carry that momentum all the way to the section finals – and further.”
Yorktown’s offense has been on a tear, and it didn’t take long to get going on Monday. Roy Reynolds placed a corner kick on the far post in the fifth minute, where Marcello Spiniello was waiting to give the Huskers an early 1-0 lead.
“That was the best feeling in the world,” sophomore midfielder Adam Romanski said of Spiniello’s goal. “I was just behind him, so I had a front row seat to that header.”
Each team was awarded a penalty kick in a span of two minutes early in the second half, with Reynolds converting for Yorktown and Aidan Datene putting his kick away for the Sailors (13-4-1) to make it 2-1.
In the 51st minute, Romanski scored on a long free kick from David Metz to extend the Huskers’ lead to 3-1, and then Braham, who finished with 10 saves, hung tough as Hen Hud made its final push.
Next up, Yorktown will play at No. 7 Somers in the semis on Wednesday.
“We were very confident all season,” Romanski said. “We just had a feeling that we were going very far and we feel that we can win sectionals. We feel really good about it.”
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Here are the rest of the results from Monday’s quarterfinals:
CLASS AA
Fox Lane 2, Arlington 1: On a Monday in which three No. 1 seeds fell, No. 8 Fox Lane may have pulled off the biggest upset with a 2-1 win at two-time defending Class AA champ and top-seed Arlington in the quarterfinals.
Juan Rivera scored both goals for the Foxes (13-5) on assists from Matt Harrison and Owen Azrak. They’ll play at No. 5 John Jay-East Fishkill in the semifinals on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
“Anytime you get a win against Arlington it means a lot for your program. Their school is well-established with a long history and tradition of winning,” coach J.R. Pouncey said. “For us, today it was important to focus on what we are good at and capable of doing, and to do it at the highest possible level. If we can find a way to achieve this each game, it gives is the best chance to be successful.”
Port Chester 1, New Rochelle 0: In a Class AA quarterfinal at Purchase College, Luis Morales scored on an assist from Steven Hernandez in the final minute of regulation. The second-seeded Rams (15-2-1) will host No. 3 Mamaroneck in the semis on Wednesday.
Mamaroneck 2, Ketcham 0: In a Class AA quarterfinal at No. 3 Mamaroneck, Juan Giraldo and Jonhy Maldonado each scored for the Tigers (13-2-3).
John Jay-East Fishkill 3, Scarsdale 2, OT: In a Class AA quarterfinal at No. 4 Scarsdale, Ryan Metz scored the winner about three minutes into overtime. Nick Liccardi and Nikolas Angyal also scored for the fifth-seeded Patriots (13-4-1). Takeshi Kakudo and Gabe Harousseau each scored for the Raiders (10-5-2).
CLASS A
Eastchester 1, Pearl River 0: In a Class A quarterfinal at No. 1 Pearl River (16-1-1), Austin Capasso scored the lone goal and Joseph Blasetti made 14 saves for the shutout. The eighth-seeded Eagles (12-5-1) will play at No. 4 Byram Hills in the semifinals on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Byram Hills 2, Pelham 1, OT: In a Class A quarterfinal at No. 4 Byram Hills, Payton Levine scored the winner and Ben Weinstein scored the tying goal in the 61st minute for the Bobcats (13-5).
Somers 1, Lakeland 0: In a Class A quarterfinal at No. 2 Lakeland, Evan Kieltyka scored on a free kick from Will Bennett. Kenny Kurtz made 11 saves as No. 7 Somers (12-4-2) was outshot by the Hornets, 18-2.
CLASS B
Bronxville 2, Blind Brook 1: In a Class B quarterfinal at No. 3 Bronxville, James Burnell scored both goals for the Broncos on assists from Mike Crawford and Jared Hendrick. The Broncos (13-3-2) will host No. 7 Edgemont in the semis on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Rye Neck 2, Briarcliff 1: In a Class B quarterfinal at No. 4 Rye Neck, Luis Galeano scored the winning goal in the 70th minute. Galeano also assisted on Takuno Nishimura’s goal. The Panthers (11-5-2) will host No. 8 Valhalla in the semis on Wednesday.
Edgemont 2, Hastings 0: In a Class B quarterfinal at No. 2 Hastings, Alan Makadon and Drew Simon each scored and Josh Newman made seven saves for the seventh-seeded Panthers (12-5-1).
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