Lacrosse Team Begins Playoffs With Two Dominating Wins

All eyes are on the Scarsdale Boy's Lacrosse team who have high hopes for success in the playoffs. After an up and down regular season where the Raiders won their first 7 games, lost their next 4, and then won their final 5 games of the regular season. On Monday 5/16 the Scarsdale Boy's Lacrosse team played Clarkstown North at home in their first playoff game. They were coming off a five game winning streak in which they dominated theiropponents and felt confident about their ability to win.

The game opened with 6 goals in the early minutes, 2 for Clarkstown and 4 for Scarsdale; 2 goals from Junior William Cabrera 1 for Junior Captain Cooper Schneider, and 1 from Freshman Andrew Bernstein. Cabrera persevered and scored another 2 goals in the first quarter. With 5 minutes left in the first quarter to go, Clarkstown was able to score ending the quarter 6-3 with a three goal lead for the Raiders.

Senior Captain, Elliot Graham, set the tone for the second quarter by scoring 2 goals early on, followed by another 2 goals by Cabrera. Another goal came for the Raiders scored by Sophomore David Love to make it 11-3. Clarkstown struggled to come back but Cabrera and Elliot Graham countered their attempts to make it 13-5 at the end of the half. Schneider added his second with 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Graham and Sophomore Robert Rolfe followed to make it 16-5 and Cabrera added another to end the quarter.

In the final quarter Love scored again with under 5 minutes. The game ended with a last second goal by junior, Adman Schwall scoring his first Varsity goal of the season ending the game 19-5.

Speaking about the game Senior Captain Andre Cutrim stated, "Coming into playoffs with such strong momentum was very helpful, we put the game away early as we were up by 8 at the half. Now we have to focus on staying consistent, and not getting complacent after a few good performances. " The Raiders aim to make a deep playoff run, citing their exceptional talent and strong record in the regular season as indications of their ability to succeed in their upcoming games.

After lifting themselves out of their mid-season losing streak, the Raiders have been consistent and ambitious. Junior William Cabrera added to Cutrim's statements by stating, "after our first round playoff game, we now know what we are capable of doing when we work as a team, no matter what the competition, we can run with any team in our section". The Raiders hope that their hard work and passion will translate to wins on the field. "The competition is only going to get harder from here so we are excited to see how far we can get in the playoffs," elaborated Cabrera. Cabrera also hopes that the underclassmen on the team will contribute to successes.

"Having some more young guys really makes the team more of a family while also pushing some of the older guys to work harder."

The Raiders continued their winning streak in a playoff game against Suffern 17 to 9 on Wednesday 5/18 away at Suffern giving them the confidence they need ito make a strong run in the play-offs this season.