Girls Lacrosse Wins Class D Sectional Championship; Boys’ Lacrosse Falls to Pleasantville in Sectional Championship
The girls’ lacrosse team holding the Class D Sectional Championship plaque. Photo by Joe Villanueva.
By J. Murrer and S.Q. DeJoy
May 29, 2024: The Bronxville girls’ lacrosse team heads to Regionals after defeating Albertus Magnus 14-5 in the Class D Sectional final. They easily defeated Pawling 19-4 in the quarterfinals and advanced to the finals with a 6-5 victory over a talented Pleasantville team.
In the Sectional Championship game against Albertus, Bronxville scored early and often taking an 8-2 lead at the half and never letting up. Scoring for Bronxville were Charlotte Murray (3G), Maddy Williams (2G), Ellie Garofalo (2G), Linnea Hentschel (2G), Amy Villanueva (2G), Kendall Valente (1G), Rose Woolery (1G), and Mabel Arrighi (1). Gabbi Bici had two saves.
The Bronxville girls’ lacrosse program has made a name for itself in the state after winning the Class D State Championship in 2022 and finishing as the State Runner-up in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2023. They may have been a contender in 2020 and 2021 if the State Championship had not been canceled. No matter how often the team seems to be in a rebuilding year after graduating All-Section players, the program’s success continues.
“To me, what makes our team the most successful is the bond we have on and off the field,” said senior captain and goalkeeper Gabbi Bici. “Our team has always been close, and this bond gets passed down season after season and strengthens with each year. It allows us to stay composed in hard moments and trust each other during games.” said senior captain and goalkeeper Gabbi Bici.
The Bronxville team is on the younger side, and its ability to rebuild each season depends on those younger players stepping up.
“Every year we graduate a lot of leadership, but we also bring in and return a lot of young players who put in the work to keep our team performing at its best,” said junior captain Linnea Hentschel. “Our underclassmen have been awesome this year, and I’m so happy that I’ve been able to watch them grow as players and leaders on the field.”
The hard work and dedication of the Bronxville girls also contributes to the team’s success.
“We are able to regroup each year because everyone works so hard in the off season,” said junior captain Amy Villanueva. “A lot of dedication to the sport of lacrosse goes on behind the scenes, which helps contribute to our success.”
The Broncos will face Section IX’s James I. O’Neill High School in the first round of Regionals. The game will take place at Lakeland High School tomorrow at 6PM. The winner of that game will play in the second round of Regionals on June 1st. The New York State Championships will take place on June 7th and 8th at SUNY Cortland. 
Captains Alden Martinelli, Amy Villanueva, Linnea Hentschel, Gabbi Bici (l to r). Photo by Joe Villanueva.
“We are cherishing every day that we get to keep playing, and we have a one game at a time mentality,” said Coach Gianni Maffei. “Right now, we are focused on playing James O'Neil on Wednesday and hope to still be playing on Thursday.” Maffei, who is in her second year of coaching, was named Co-Coach of the Year in 2023.
“Our team has always been able to regroup and adapt, despite the changes in the roster, and our coaches play a pivotal role,” said Martinelli. “They provide us with guidance and continuity from season to season and have ensured that the team's core values are consistent. Their leadership helps to ease the transition for both new and returning players.”
Boys’ Lacrosse
The Bronxville boys’ lacrosse team battled Pleasantville yesterday in the Class D Sectional Championship and ultimately lost 6-5. Bronxville, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 6 Blind Brook 10-6 in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Westlake 13-7 in the semis, but met their match in the game against Pleasantville yesterday.
Pleasantville is both the top-ranked team in Class D in Section 1 and also ranked No. 1 in the New York State. with the Broncos sitting at No. 4 in the state.
In the Championship game yesterday, Pleasantville took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, and it was not until the final minutes of the second quarter that the Broncos found the back of the net. Down 6-1 at the opening of the third quarter, Luke Arrighi stepped it up in the goal and the defense found their momentum. The Bronco defense held Pleasantville scoreless in the second half and added four more goals of their own but unfortunately came up one short.
Scoring for the Broncos were Theo McMurray (2G), Jack Reilly (2G), Ben Atkeson (1G), Teddy Gramins (1A), Brian Formato (1A), and Nick Martinelli (1A).
The defense did a tremendous job in the second half of the game. Key defensive players include seniors Will Gottlieb and Brendan Morrisroe and sophomore Brady Dolan. Also contributing to the defense are senior captain Griffin Blumenriech, junior Will Mattson, sophomore Desi Heathwood, and freshman Chase Bacigalupo.
“We have a great mix of seniors and underclassmen that have meshed together really well,” said Blumenreich. “We are a young team but are balanced and well-experienced.”
In the sectional semifinals against Westlake, the teams were well matched in the first half, but Bronxville pulled away in the second half. The Westlake football team lost to Bronxville in the Sectional finals last fall, and the lacrosse team came out to even the score.
“They are tough kids and came out to win,” said Coach Joe Haven about the Wildcats. “It was 6-6 at halftime, and in the second half, we outscored them 7-1 by holding possession and winning faceoffs. The kids stuck to the game plan and fought for ground balls.”
Scoring in the game against Westlake were Theo McMurray (3G, 2A), Nick Martinelli (3G, 2A), Brian Formato (3G), Jack Reilly (2G, 5A), Thomas Freeman (2G, 2A), and Teddy Gramins (1A). Luke Arrighi, who had 14 saves against the Wildcats, had his 900th career save in that game.
Haven, Bronxville’s Athletic Director, took over as interim coach this season. The Class D Broncos finished the season with 12 wins and 7 losses, but their record does not tell the whole story as their schedule was packed with games against highly competitive lacrosse programs in all classes.
“I would say that Bronxville plays the toughest schedule of everybody in Class D in Section 1. We enjoy the competition, and it helped us get ready for the playoffs,” said Haven.
The team showed a lot of resilience this season. They started off the season with losses to Yorktown, Iona and Pleasantville, all very strong teams.
“We have had very competitive games early on” said Blumenreich. “We did a great job bouncing back from those losses and were able to keep a positive mind set and put the bad games behind us.”
It is the end of the road for the Broncos. Pleasantville advances to Regionals on June 1st and will face the Section 2 Champ. The New York State Championship game will be held at Hofstra on June 8th.
Go Broncos.
