Pearl River Stifles Bronxville, Advances to Title Game

The Pearl River Pirates faced a battle of speed against speed when they went on the road to play the Bronxville Broncos in the Section 1 Class C semifinals Monday.

Pearl River came up with the defense to slow the high-scoring Bronxville offense, backed by the play of goalie Delia White, to give the Pirates a 10-7 victory and a berth in the section championship game Wednesday at Yorktown.

The two sides were evenly matched offensively. It was a few big plays on the defensive end for the Pirates that ended Bronxville’s run.

“This was a really heartbreaking loss,” said Bronxville coach Sharon Robinson. “I really feel we had the talent to win out there today. We just made a few mistakes and a few of the things that normally go our way didn’t. Pearl River is a tough team to beat. I think they can definitely win it all, but that could have been us.”

Bronxville came out and opened up the scoring early, which seemed to knock the Pirates onto their heels. Pearl River’s defense held strong while Bronxville controlled the ball and continued to put on the pressure early.

“This was a huge game and they are a really good team,” said Pearl River senior Lauren Cook. “We had a rough start while we were trying to settle in. Once we did, things became a lot more comfortable for us.”

The Pirates did just that. Maddie Wilson and Kiera McMullan scored the game's next two goals to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead. Wilson was face guarded for the entire game and had a rough time getting free, but still managed to score the opening goal, which gave her team a boost.

McMullan played such a quick, aggressive game on both ends of the field that she had an impact on almost every play. She matched Lauren Cook with a team-high three goals Monday.

“We went on the road and took it to them,” said McMullan. “Beating the two seed gives us the confidence to beat anyone. We’ll try to go into the next game with the same mid-set and win it.”

Despite her enormous impact, McMullan was also faced with a tough matchup against the Broncos. Bronxville had the speed to keep up with the Pirates, which effectively slowed the Pirates transition game where McMullan usually thrives.

“Bronxville has some tremendous athletes,” said Pearl River coach Laurie Mayernik. “Their speed and shooting ability definitely scared us coming in. We knew we were up against a good team coming in and we would have to fight to get this win.”

Delia White truly shined on Monday. Pearl River led, 5-3, at the break, but the Broncos took control of the ball to start the second half and really pressured Pearl River’s defense. Pressured to the point that it cracked, but there was White. The Broncos’ Taylor Reynolds fired a shot past White, who was just able to snag it out of the air with the tip of her stick just before it crossed the goal line.

“That was a huge confidence boost for the defense and the entire team,” said White. “Once we got the ball, our transition took over. We had to adjust to their speed but we were still able to use ours.”

“Pearl River has really fast transition,” said Bronxville's Taylor Reynolds. “We knew, even though we were the higher seed, that they would give us a run for our money. I thought we fought hard and finished strong. I’m proud of the way we played.”

Pearl River (14-4-1) will look to secure the first section championship in the program's history Wednesday when the No. 3 seeded Pirates take on top-seeded Pleasantville (17-1) 5 p.m. at Yorktown. Pleasantville defeated Edgemont, 12-11, Monday.

“I’ve been waiting for this for four years,” Wilson said. “This has been our goal all year and I know we are ready for it. It’s finally here and we want it.”

Pearl River 10, Bronxville 7

Goal Scorers: B – Taylor Reynolds 5, Megan Murray 2; PR – Kiera McMullan 3, Lauren Cook 3,  Maddie Wilson, Allison Cook, Jessica Mayernik, Meghan McBrien
Assists: B – Taylor Reynolds, Julia Bruton; PR – Allison Cook 3, Lauren Cook, Jessica Mayernik
Saves: B – Lara Frock 3; PR – Delia White 11