STAC Soccer Secures No. 4 Position

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Fit to be tied following their third deadlock of the young season, but fresh off a come-from-behind stalemate against perennial power Dowling College, followed by a decisive victory over Caldwell College, the St. Thomas Aquinas men’s soccer team climbed one spot to No. 4 in the East Region.

Coach Graham Brown’s Spartans, featuring an experienced group that went 12-5-1 last season, received a late goal from senior Edgar Barragan of Yonkers to offset an early goal by Dowling to forge a crucial tie.

STAC, which has won the five games it didn’t tie, is ranked fourth in the nation in saves percentage (.933), behind the strong play of senior goal keeper Andrew Tartara of Bardonia, a one-time standout at Albertus Magnus. 

Junior Daniel Davren of Pearl River, a former stalwart at Nanuet High, ranks sixth in the country in assists and 18th in points as he leads the Spartan offense with 12 points including four goals. 

Sophomore Joseph Connolly, another Nanuet High alum, also has four goals for the Spartans.

STAC returns to East Coast Conference competition on Saturday when the Spartans travel to Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry. Game time is set for 3 p.m.

“Hopefully, it won’t end in another tie,” Davren said. “A tie is almost as bad as a loss. I hope they are out of our system.”

Connolly takes a similar outlook, calling a tie “better than a loss,” but not exactly embracing the outcome.

The three ties:

Sept. 4 at St. Anselm: a scoreless game in which Tartara, the veteran goalie, made seven saves, and the Spartans enjoyed an 18-13 advantage in shots.

Sept. 11 at New Haven: a 1-1 deadlock in which the Spartans outshot the host by a huge 17-7 margin.

Sept. 24 vs. Dowling at Ramapo College: another 1-1 tie in which STAC once again outshot the opposition, this time by a 20-14 margin.           

Dominican conquers STAC

Sophomore forward Olivia Antonopoulos of Baldwin scored two goals to power the Dominican College women’s soccer team past St. Thomas Aquinas College, 4-2, in a non-conference game at the DC field.

Danielle Romano of Plainview and junior Jamilyn Snyder of Lacey, NJ, assisted by junior Nicolle Sanchez of Lyndhurst, NJ, also recorded goals as the Lady Chargers won their second game of the season against five losses and a tie.

The Spartans and Chargers each had 14 shots in the contest, but Dominican dominated with a 13-2 edge in corner kicks.

Dominican tries for back-to-back wins on Saturday with a road game at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, DE. The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game is set for 1 p.m.

Senior forward Tori Matt of Chenango Forks, and junior midfielder Becky Torres of Nanuet scored for the Lady Spartans, who visit Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry for a noon game on Saturday seeking their second victory of the campaign.

Catch Rutgers—maybe Kivlehan—on local TV

West Nyack resident Pat Kivlehan—who played at St. Joseph’s Regional in Montvale, NJ—will be at his usual spot on special teams on Saturday when the Rutgers football team challenges Syracuse inside the Carrier Dome at noon.

The Scarlet Knights (2-1) look to snap a two-game losing streak to the Orange (3-1) in the Big East opener for both schools.

Kivlehan, the grandson of Tappan Zee High School Hall of Famer Jake Ventriglia—who turned down two college scholarship offers to join the Marine Corps—is a senior, and is also listed on the Rutgers roster as a defensive back. He is a two-time member of the Big East all-academic team.

The Big East Network has live coverage of the game, which will be shown locally on SNY (New York City DMA).

Rugers Rush Hour, a one-hour condensed replay of the game, airs Sunday at 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. on SNY. The full-game replay airs Tuesday at 7 p.m., and Wednesday at 2 p.m., on SNY.           

Spartan inaugural a success

The inaugural Spartan Alumni Race was held at Tallman Mountain State Park in Palisades, with senior Sarah Callagy of Poughkeepsie setting a Lady Spartan 5K record of 19:02. Her winning time topped the existing standard of 19:10 set last season by sophomore Keeley Bateman of Pearl River.

Freshman Joe Chegwidden of Hamburg, NJ, established a STAC course standard in the men’s 5K in 16:39, breaking assistant coach Andrew Gangemi’s previous mark. Vinny Modafferi of New City was the first male alumni finisher, while Laura Koch was the first female in.

Callagy has led the Lady Spartans in each of three 2011 competitions. Bateman finished the Alumni race in second place in a time of 19:32. Senior Chelsea Klinger of Owego dropped nearly one minute off last week’s time crossing the line at 20:39. A pair of freshmen rounded out the scorers with Ashley Weintraub of Hurleyville leading the way. Weintraub ran a collegiate best of 21:26, followed by Katelyn Garvey of Pearl River who finished in 21:33.

Seniors Lisa Brevogel of Congers and Lauren Karpoich of Middle Island ran season bests in 21:39 and 22:43, respectively.

Clarkstown South alum Ashley Santa Teresa, a junior from New City, continued to drop her time, coming in at 23:27.

While Chegwidden set the course record, classmate Alex Andre, a North

Rockland graduate, was pushing him throughout the race. Andre finished 2nd in 16:47. Third place was taken by alum Modafferi in 17:02 and assistant coach Gangemi crossed the line in 17:20.

Sophomores Garvenchy Nicolas of Brooklyn (17:42) and Matt Buell of Staten Island (17:47) worked together to secure fifth and sixth places, while alumni Elmer Eckert was next in 17:57. Jonathan Laszlo of East Northport (18:31), Stephen Dietrich of New City (18:59) and Chris McKenna of Hillsdale, NJ (19:23), all sophomores, took the next three spots.

Senior Chris Muniz of Suffern finished in 11th place in 20:27. Rafael Ortiz and Dan Nilsen of the alumni squad rounded out the scorers.

The Spartans team finished with 22 points followed by the Alumni men who finished with a score of 39.

STAC returns to action today at the prestigious Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.

Chargers go forth

Powered by senior Sarah Dugandzic of Suffern, who took eighth with a time of 21:21.16, the Dominican College women’s cross country team earned a fourth-place finish at the Philly Metro Meet hosted by Cabrini College at Belmont Plateau.

Dominican--which excelled in an 11-school field--returns to action today in Bethlehem, PA, to participate in the highly regarded Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University.

In the Philly Metro Meet, sophomore Jessica Avila of Mount Vernon clocked 21:44.07 to finish in 13th place while Krystal Campbel of New Windsor was 21st in 22:35.01.

Samantha Klunk of York, PA, was 23th with a time of 22:46.63, and freshman standout Renee Roncace of Valley Cottage—who was an honorable mention all-section selection at Nyack High—rounded out the top 30 runners in 23:11.29.

Mortarboard musings

• Manhattan College needs a victory in a big way in men’ soccer, with the Jaspers having opened the season at 0-7 following a 1-0 loss to Bryant. Manhattan, which has been outscored 16-2, host rival Fordham tonight (Sept. 30) at 7 p.m., and is home again on Sunday at 7 p.m. to meet Saint Peter’s. Junior midfielder Jose Armas of West Haverstraw has made one start for the Jaspers; senior midfielder Chris Holihan--an alum of Tappan Zee where he was an all-section selection--has started six games. Holihan played in Manhattan’s first three games last year, but was lost for the balance of the season due to an injury. As a sophomore, Holihan was outstanding on the backline, and was named to the all-MAAC rookie team. Armas started five games for the Jaspers as a sophomore.
• Brittany Egan, a Pearl River graduate, is a junior midfielder on the Manhattan College women’s soccer team (2-5-1). The Lady Jaspers, who added freshman fullback Elisa Cullaro of New City this season, host Canisius today at 4 p.m., and welcome Niagara on Sunday morning at 10.
• Dominican College men’s soccer player Manuel Valenica of New Rochelle was named Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) rookie of the week. Valencia, a sophomore midfielder, had one goal and two assists.  He scored the game-winner in double-overtime at Felician, and assisted on the tying goal in the 88th minute. Coach John Campbell’s Chargers, coming of a 1-1 double overtime tie with host Bloomfield College, visit Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, DE, on Saturday in a CACC contest at 3 p.m. Dominican now stands at 3-3-2 overall and 2-1-1 in conference play. Halfway through the first overtime against the Deacons, goal keeper Brandon Heembrock of Ottawa, Canada, stopped a penalty shot, and had 11 saves overall.
• Jennifer Bryant of Pearl River, a sophomore middle-hitter, has recorded 19 kills for the Westchester Community College volleyball team. The Vikings (4-2) host Orange County CC on Tuesday.
• Junior center Matt Bonomolo of Pearl River, an alum of Nanuet High, is a three-year starter on the Mount Ida College football team. The Mustangs (1-2), coming off a hard-fought 7-3 win over Hartwick, travel to Northfield, VT, on Saturday to challenge Norwich. Playing at Norwich is Nyack High graduate Stephen Maldonado, a freshman outside linebacker.
• The Pace University football team will be at home on Oct. 8 against Assumption at 1 p.m. Nyack High graduates Chris Archibal, a 6-foot-5 defensive back, and Graydon Tokke are freshmen, and being groomed as the Setters look for their second win of the season. Tokke, a kicker, was all-county honorable mention, and also played basketball at Nyack.
• The Nyack College men’s and women’s soccer teams will form a doubleheader at Philadephia University on Saturday. The women open play at noon, followed by the men’s game at 2:30. The women’s team hosts rival Dominican on Wednesday at 4 p.m. while the men’s game against Dominican is scheduled on Oct. 8 at 2:30 p.m., also in Nyack.
• The College of Mount Saint Vincent volleyball team takes part in the Ramapo Classic on Saturday. The Dolphins will take on Plattsburgh (11 a.m.), Ramapo (1:30 p.m.), and Centenary (3 p.m.).
• College of Mount Saint Vincent junior Mary Dutkowski of New City posted a 10th-place finish in her season debut at the Hunter Developmental Meet, leading the Dolphins to 10th place team in a field of 17 scoring squads at the event. Dutkoski finished the 5K course at Van Cortlandt Park in Riverdale in 10th place overall out of 128 finishers. She posted a time of 22:30.