The Section 1 field hockey championships begin Friday, Oct. 22 and are scheduled to conclude Sunday, Nov. 1 at Nyack High School with all three class championships decided then.
Winners will go to the state regional playoffs with the goal, of course, to eventually reach and win a state title.
This is a unique year in which, in Class B, Section 1 has been selected by the state to be the first in a rotation to send two teams to regionals, the winner and the runner-up.
Below is an up-close look at the teams and players in each tournament.
Class A
Best first-round matchup: No. 5 Suffern at No. 4 North Rockland. Suffern won its regular-season meeting 1-0.
Team capable of breaking the bracket: Driven by sentiment, since coach Jordan Turner is retiring after more
than 30 years, No. 7 Clarkstown. It should beat No. 10 Arlington. It would be a long shot to beat No. 2 John Jay-East Fishkill, which it lost to 4-0 during the season. Still, stranger things have happened, especially when emotion is involved. If this team could just generate some more offense, well, you never know. ... Players to watch: Lily Brickman, Sr., F, Mamaroneck; Brooke Cameron, Sr., MF, John Jay-East Fishkill; Caitlin Cummings, So., MF, John Jay-East Fishkill; Meredith D’Arcy, So., MF, Mamaroneck; Olivia Doria, Sr., F, White Plains; Talia Grill, Jr., MF, Mamaroneck; Micalyn Kelly, Sr,, F.; White Plains; Ava Lawlor, D, Mamaroneck; Keris Orr, Jr., F, White Plains; Emma Owens, So., F/MF, John Jay-East Fishkill; Alexis Tighe, Sr. F, White Plains
And the winner is: Mamaroneck. Undefeated in Section 1 play this year. Winner of two of the last three state Class A championships. Deep everywhere. It would be surprising if this team is even seriously challenged in the sectionals. While players have professed a take-it-game-by-game approach since pre-season practice, no one doubts this team is itching to get back to the state final, where its bid for a 3-peat ended last year in a 2-0 loss to Windsor Central.
Class B
Best first-round matchup: No. 11 Harrison at No. 6 Pearl River. Pearl River should win this game but don't forget it only beat Harrison 2-1 when the two teams played early last month.
Team capable of breaking the bracket: It depends how you define break. Rye is the No. 7 seed but, on any given day, it seems capable of beating anyone in Class B and, save for Mamaroneck, anyone in Class A or C. The thing is any given day hasn't been every day and this team's 7-6-1 record doesn't shout champion. But consider that it recently tied No. 3 seed Lakeland and only lost by a goal to both No. 2 seed John Jay-Cross River and No. 4 Horace Greeley — and this is when Greeley was healthy. But in its best Jekyll and Hyde impersonation, it also got blanked 5-0 by No. 1 Yorktown and just edged No. 9 Ursuline by a goal. If it plays like it wins its opening-round game, which is should, to reach the quarterfinals, it will take on John Jay-Cross River. Taking out the No. 2 seed would be huge — although far from guaranteed, even if Rye is playing like it is capable of playing.
Players to watch: Finja Degl, Sr., MF, John Jay-Cross River; Lily Diaz, Sr., MF, Yorktown; Meaghan Heyde, Jr., D/MF, Lakeland ; Juliet Horton, Sr., D, Yorktown; Callan Keeley, Sr. F, John Jay-Cross River; Harriet Moraes, So., MF, Horace Greeley; Aditi Parambath, Jr., MF, Lakeland; Liv Prata, Sr., F, Rye; Cate Puzzuoli, Sr., D, Rye; Ava Ryan, Jr., F, Yorktown; Claire Ryan, Jr., D, Yorktown; McKenzie Ryder, Sr., G, John Jay-Cross River; Gianna Santini, Sr., MF, Lakeland; Sophia Shaw, Sr., F, John Jay-Cross River; Megan Slomsky, Sr., D, Horace Greeley; Brooke Taffet, Fr., MF, Horace Greeley; Kendal Williams, So., D, Lakeland; Nicole Weyne, Jr., F, Horace Greeley; Robyn Wilmont, Jr., MF, Rye; Tessa Zicari, Sr., G, Rye
And the winner is: Got a coin? No fewer than five teams (Yorktown, John Jay-Cross River, Lakeland, Horace Greeley and, yes, Rye, which was runner-up to Greeley last year) could conceivably win this title. But, remember, tears will be limited after the final horn sounds at Nyack, since both the winner and loser in Class B will advance to the state regionals. The betting here is that will probably be Yorktown and Lakeland, although Lakeland will, in all likelihood, have to get past John Jay-Cross River, which it beat only by a goal this season. Yorktown recently defeated Lakeland by a goal but if Lakeland can find a way to not just create corners but to also beat two really good goalies in John Jay-Cross River's McKenzie Ryder and Yorktown's Sam Conboy, it should win the title. But it won't be a surprise if it's Yorktown, which is playing very well, or John Jay-Cross River, which has great senior leadership and talent, or even banged up defending champion Greeley or inconsistent Rye.
Class C
Best first-round matchup: In this instance, call it quarterfinal matchup, since there's only one first-round Class C game. So, in the quarters, it should be No. 5 North Salem vs. No. 4 Putnam Valley. The regular-season Tigers vs. Tigers matchup saw Putnam Valley win 2-1.
Team capable of breaking the bracket: If No. 5 North Salem could only score more, they might be atop or at least close to the top of this class. The Tigers are 7-8-1. Of their eight losses, four were by the score of 2-1, three were 1-0 and one was 3-2. Oh, and their tie was 0-0. In other words, North Salem was in every game it played and, obviously, is good defensively. If it can beat No. 4 Putnam Valley in the quarterfinals, it would almost surely face No. 1 Pawling, which it lost to 1-0 during the regular season. That would, in all probability, lead to a championship game vs. No. 2 Bronxville, which it fell to 1-0 this season that's a lot of ifs and maybes, etc. but if any team is to defy the odds, it's likely to be North Salem -- if it can just put a few more shots in the cage.
Players to Watch: Corinne Augustyn, Jr., F, Bronxville; Clare Collins, Sr., F, Pleasantville; Noelle Dupree, Jr., F, North Salem; Ellie Fahy, Sr., F, Bronxville; Olivia Gerosa, Sr., F, Pawling; Willa Hailey, Jr.. D, Bronxville; Katelyn Nessel, Sr., D, Pleasantville; Emily Nevermann, Sr., F, Pawling; Robin Pockriss, Sr., D, North Salem; Kylie Robinson, Sr., D, North Salem; Rebecca Smith, Sr., MF, Pawling; Ashley Vamossy, Sr., F, Pleasantville; Luca Vecchiariello, Sr., D, Pleasantville; Mackenzie Wahl, Sr., MF, Pawling, Maggie Young, Sr., MF, Bronxville
And the winner is: Bronxville. The No. 2 Broncos had the toughest schedule of anyone in Class C and routed No. 2 Pawling 7-1 earlier in the season. In fact, Bronxville hasn't lost to a Class C opponent this season.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Section 1 field hockey tournament breakdown with predictions
