Girls lacrosse: Kocaj scores 7 times, Sieja with big saves as Lakeland/Panas wins
PLEASANTVILLE — When Isabel Kocaj was given a two-minute penalty for illegal contact with 3:39 left in Lakeland/Panas's girls lacrosse game against Pleasantville on Friday, the host Panthers had already whittled a 14-7 Lakeland/Panas lead to 14-10.
As Kocaj squatted along the sidelines, Erin Drillock and Faith Brown scored to cut the Rebel lead to 14-12.
At this point, Kocaj, a Lakeland junior committed to playing in a couple of years for Fairfield University, was committed in the short term to only one thing.
She turned to her bench with a question for her coaches, "Can I Tiger?" she asked.
Seconds after Kocaj bolted onto the field in shot-out-of-a-cannon fashion, the answer became clear.
The loss was the first for Pleasantville, which is now 4-1.
Yes, she had the green light to "Tiger."
There was still 1:24 left on the clock but, at 15-12, it was essentially game over.
"I was thinking I've got to get a goal. I've got to take care of it," said Kocaj, who sealed any remote chance of a Panther comeback by intercepting a pass in her defensive end with 47 seconds left.
With the win, the Rebels upped their season mark to 3-1. Their only loss was by a goal to Scarsdale.
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Player of the game
Akron-bound starting goalie Kaelen Sieja was very good before exiting with 9:33 left and Lakeland/Panas taking a 14-7 lead on a hard Brooke Pizzarello one-step 8-meter free shot.
But Kocaj took top game honors, as might be expected from someone who scored seven of her team's 15 goals.
One of Kocaj's more notable scores came after a Pizzarello shot hit the right post and Kocaj pounced on the rebound and dipped and stutter-stepped to the goal before hitting the back of the net. with her shot
By the numbers
Pizzarello didn't often miss. In fact, she scored on four of her six shots.
One of her scores came off what was close to a one-timer following Kaitlyn Wilkowski's perfect feed to the front of the net.
Clare Warren had a hat trick and two assists and Wilkowski had one goal to go with her assist.
Anna Lemma also had two assists and Maddie DiMarco had one assist.
Eighth-grader Faith Brown had a team-high four goals for the Panthers and had two assists.
Brown's goal off an 8-meter free shot cut the Rebel lead to 14-10 with 6:13 left and occurred after Brown won the ball off the draw and ran deep into the Rebel defensive end, where she was fouled.
Her last goal also came off an 8-meter and made it 14-12 game before Lily Whippo won a big draw for Lakeland/Panas and Kocaj flew off the sidelines to score.
Drillock scored three times for Pleasantville and had an assist. Rowan Capko scored twice, one being off a pretty feed from Ella Collins.
Collins and Ella McCourtney had solo tallies.
Sieja had seven saves, including stopping multiple 8-meter shots, (most attempts to beat her high), which favor the shooter.
One of her best saves followed a pass off an 8-meter setup. Instead of shooting, Drillock fed Collins on the right post but Sieja moved quickly to her left for the stop.
Panther keeper Ciara McCarthy was credited with six saves. Included was an excellent stop of a fast-moving, low Kocaj shot.
They said it
Brown, who played like a seasoned veteran and won the race to seven loose balls, didn't seem fazed facing a team whose individual schools are bigger than hers.
"We're not worried about school size.," she said.
She also seemed largely unfazed by the early-season loss, remarking, "Not everything is going to go in your favor."
Brown said after a 4-0 start, her team needed a "reality check."
But she was also happy with the way it responded after being down by seven goals midway through the second half.
"It all comes down to our grit," Brown said. "We need to stay in it and not give up. We did forge that comeback."
Kocaj and Sieja indicated their young team was a work in progress but they appeared optimistic.
"We have a lot to work with," Sieja said.
"There's a lot of energy and motivation," Kocaj said.
"We feed off each other's energy," Sieja added.
Up next
The Rebels will host Pawling at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Panas High.
Pleasantville is scheduled to play at Byram Hills at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Girls lacrosse: Kocaj, Sieja lead Lakeland/Panas over Pleasantville
