Raiders Fall Season Wrap Up

As the fall season comes to a close, here’s a wrap-up of the Raider’s Varsity teams records:

The Raiders Girls Swim team completed their most successful season ever. Captains Mia Dell’Orto, Maggie Brew, Emma Cahaly and Mia Carrol led their team to an undefeated 9-0 record in their league, winning their conference. The team will compete next on Oct. 30th at Felix Festa Middle School. Additionally, for the second straight year SHS will be sending three divers to the NYS high school diving championships.

The number four ranked Raiders Field Hockey team continues to extend their post season with a semi final game against their rivals this Thursday at Mamaroneck who are ranked first. Scarsdale defeated White Plains and Clarkstown South in the first two playoff rounds. During the regular season, their record was 12-4, led by senior captains Julia Jamesley, Lizey Melhman, and Emma Schwartz. According to Sophia Franco, a junior and three year member of the team, “the entire team works really well together and we all support each other. It’s what helped us have such a successful season. Our new coaches, Coach Barton and Coach Marty, are amazing. They fit right in and are such positive influences on us”.

The Raiders Football team had a more difficult season. Despite being competitive in most games through the first half, the Raiders only managed to capture one win. Chris Saenger, a junior says, “ our record is 1-7, but we are much more than what our record shows. We’ve faced a lot of injuries which have slowed us down week to week, but we’ve still managed to play well against some of the better teams in the section. Unfortunately we did not make the playoffs, but we have a consolation game at Mahopac on Thursday”.

The Boys Soccer team finished the season with a record of 6 wins, 7 losses, and 1 tie. They defeated Fox Lane 2-1 during the first round of playoffs, but were eliminated by Ossining with a loss of 1-0 in the quarter finals. Dylan Cohn, Joao Pedro Demello, and Nicolas (Nico) Bernard were the captains. Captain Dylan Cohn said, “Although we fell short, it was overall a great year. Many kids grew on and off the field and the whole experience was worthwhile and enjoyable. I’m proud of the team and the run we made, and I thank all who made the season as worthwhile as it was.”

The Girls’ Volleyball team had a very strong season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses finishing second place in their league. This record, is the same as the 2015 team who won the section. Senior captains, Mary Langford and Rena Li were both part of the 2015 team and are excited to see where the rest of the season takes them. Langford says, “I’m really excited moving into post season, I think we’ve been putting the work in and we’re really determined this year. Im also really proud of how much we’ve grown as individuals and as one unit since the beginning of the season. We’re not the same team we were 2 months ago and I think it’s really going to show once we get out there”. Girls begin playoffs at home on Friday at 4:30 pm as the number 3 seed against Ketcham, the number 14 seed.

Girls Soccer team Concludes Season with an Overtime Loss to Top Ranked Arlington

At the beginning of the 2018 high school soccer season in August, SHS Girls Varsity A soccer coach Mindy Genovese spoke with the team’s players about her expectations for the season. Coming off a successful 2017 with most of the veteran starters returning and three talented players from Development Academy joining the roster, the consensus was that the team had the potential to go far in the Section 1 playoffs in October. Coach Mindy avoided any predictions, however, and said that her expectations were for the players to have fun and grow together into a cohesive group that got the most out of their ability.

Fast forward two months and it’s clear that Coach Genovese’s expectations were met. After a slow start, the Raiders found their mojo and were undefeated in their last eight regular season games, winning their League championship. The team began its 2018 playoff run as underdogs against John Jay East Fishkill on Sunday, October 21. Playing in cold and blustery conditions with 30 mph winds, the game was tied 0-0 after the first half. But in one sense the Raiders won the half, as they were playing against the wind and managed to maintain possession consistently and keep the game scoreless. The second half was a different story, with Scarsdale taking advantage of the wind at their back and overwhelming John Jay with offensive rush after offensive rush. Ten minutes into the second half, senior forward Nayumi Parente-Ribeiro broke through with a touch down the left sideline and a cut to avoid a John Jay defender, placing the low shot just inside the right post for a 1-0 Scarsdale lead. From there, it was a dominant performance by Scarsdale, with junior forward Olivia Bryant receiving a long, wind-aided punt from goalie Christina Coco that led to a breakaway and a 2-0 Raiders lead. In the waning minutes, sophomore Anastasia Stefanou connected on a shot from 20 yards out, perfectly placing it in the top right corner of the goal beyond the reach of John Jay’s goalie for the final score in Scarsdale’s 3-0 victory. The win put the Raiders on a collision course in the quarterfinals on Tuesday with the top-ranked team in their Section, Arlington.

Coming into the quarterfinals game, the Admirals had a record of 14-0-1, with a number of lopsided wins against good teams. The 9-6-1 Raiders knew they were facing an undefeated opponent that had beaten them 3-1 early in the season. Nobody, except perhaps the Raiders’ players, parents and coaches, gave them a chance. During the first few minutes of the game, Arlington dominated possession in the Raiders’ half, but thereafter Scarsdale began to take control, with multiple rushes down the sideline by Parente-Ribeiro, Bryant, Elizabeth Elcik and Kelly Rutherford, resulting in crosses and good scoring opportunities. But the Raiders could not convert and after the first half, the game was deadlocked 0-0, with one excellent Admirals scoring chance having been thwarted on a diving save by senior goalie Christina Coco. As the second half began, there was concern that Arlington’s deep bench and frequent substitutions would enable its players to be more fresh than the Raiders, which had a smaller player rotation. As the half wore on, Arlington was successful in keeping most of the play in Scarsdale’s half. Senior mid-fielder Allison Stafford ran her usual in-game track meet, alternating between offensive rushes and defensive positioning up and down the field, winning 50-50 balls and marking the Admirals’ leading scorer. While the Admirals had the majority of the second half scoring opportunities, in each case Scarsdale’s defense, led by sophomore Tory Von Redden, was up to the task. Coco played throughout with confidence, frequently coming out of the goal mouth to cover the ball and thwarting the Admirals’ rushes. Scarsdale had minimal scoring opportunities in the second half, failing to convert on a couple of corner kicks late in the game. Regulation play ended with the score 0-0 and the teams headed to overtime. Under NYSPHSAA rules, after a tie in regulation the teams play two ten minute overtime periods. Five minutes into the first overtime period, the Admirals scored off a header in front of the Raiders’ goal. Undaunted, the Raiders immediately went on the attack, and when senior outside back Paige Barlow gathered the ball on the run in Arlington’s half past midfield and hit senior forward Riley Edlitz with a perfect pass in the middle of the box, Edlitz turned and was one-on-one with the Admirals’ goalie. She got off a hard shot but the goalie was up to the task and made a diving save to her right, deflecting the ball just outside the goal. From there, the Raiders stayed on the attack but were unable to muster any more serious scoring chances and, with the conclusion of the second ten minute overtime period, the horn sounded and the Admirals and their fans enthusiastically celebrated their narrow, hard fought victory.

Tuesday’s Arlington game, even though it ended in defeat, was one of the best SHS Girls Varsity A soccer performances in memory. Credit goes to Coach Genovese and her assistant coach, Kiera Fox, for the team’s improved play throughout the season and the closeness and purposefulness of the entire roster, from starters to reserves. While the Raiders did not achieve their ultimate goal of winning their first Section 1 championship since 2000, it was by most accounts a highly successful season for the team and one that the returning players can be expected to use as a springboard to 2019.