For an undefeated Mamaroneck field hockey team entering the most demanding portion of its regular-season schedule, Tuesday’s game against John Jay-Cross River offered another chance to reinforce the habits that have carried the Tigers this far.
Mamaroneck wasted little time doing so.
The Tigers scored three times in the opening half and held off John Jay in the second to earn a 3-1 victory on Oct. 6, improving to 11-0 on the season.
“We play every team with respect,” Mamaroneck coach Trish Miller said. “We have to play at our level and make people play to us. We know anyone can beat anybody on any given day and we pretty much go by that philosophy.”
Emilia Londrigan put Mamaroneck ahead with 10:36 remaining in the first quarter, giving the Tigers an early advantage they never surrendered.
Mamaroneck added two more goals in the second quarter.
Lily Brickman made it 2-0, finishing a chance set up by Emi Resendiz. Meredith D’Arcy later converted off a corner giving the Tigers a commanding three-goal cushion before John Jay eventually broke through in the second half when Catherine Natko scored off a corner of her own.
After that goal, however, the Mamaroneck defense clamped down, preventing the Wolves from turning the goal into anything more.
The victory continued an impressive fall for a Mamaroneck program that reached the Class A state championship game last season. The Tigers have produced several dominant performances this year, including victories over Rye, 6-0; Clarkstown, 10-0; Pleasantville, 8-1; Scarsdale, 7-0; and Ossining, 11-0. They also showed they can win a tighter defensive battle in a 1-0 victory over Greeley.
Miller credited a strong senior group with helping a relatively young roster remain steady.
“Our senior class has a bunch of great leaders,” she said. “We have good captains and they really keep the focus in practice and we do a lot of things away from the field that build that chemistry, and they really want to win for each other.”
That leadership will become increasingly important.
Mamaroneck closes the regular season with a formidable stretch that includes Lakeland on Oct. 10, followed by matchups with Greenwich and Garden City before postseason play begins. MaxPreps currently ranks Lakeland and Mamaroneck first and second, respectively, among Section 1 teams, underscoring the significance of their upcoming meeting.
“Every game we have until the end of the regular season is against top-level teams,” Miller said. “We really have to focus hard in practice and work on those areas where we’re falling short.”
For an unbeaten team, the challenge now is making sure there are fewer and fewer of those areas when the games matter most.
