The Pine Bush girls’ lacrosse team reached the Section 9 Class A championship game last year.

Now, with a new coach on the sidelines, the Bushmen are at least looking to match that performance in 2024.

Samantha Schwartz will take over a team that finished 9-9 last season and were the sectional runners-up after a 17-7 loss in the sectional title game to their longtime nemesis, the Kinston Tigers.

The Bushmen have lost seniors Julia Corin, Tiffany Hoffman and Marie Cerniglia, but have returned Sophia Licardi, Julia Tanner and Mackenzie Brown. They will mix with newcomers Camryn Kodgis, Anneliese Vitale and Kayanna Cauthen.

“I am excited to be stepping up to the varsity level this season,” Schwartz said. “We have a great group of young players, who are ready to build on the success they had last season.”

Valley Central
The Valley Central Vikings play in a competitive Class B division, which aw them post an 11-4 record, earning the third seed in the sectional tournament, where their season ended against No. 2 Minisink Valley, 14-10.

The Vikings have lost a key part of their offense with the graduating of attacker Kiera McPhillips. They’ve also lost midfielder Mackenzie Delmonico.

However, their other top scorer – midfielder Rebecca Sibley – will return, with Madison Roszkowski returning in the cage. Also returning are attacker Lorena Rivera, attacker Brianna McPhillips, defender Chloe Santangelo and defender Natalie Benincasa. They will mix with new attacker Ava Ronaldson and defense/midfielder Hannah Stahl.

“We hope to improve our record from last year and make another appearance in the playoffs,” Valley Central coach Brooke Axelson said.

Wallkill
The Wallkill Panthers, meanwhile, have lost a ton of players from last year’s team, which made its varsity debut in 2023. The Panthers finished with a 6-10 record last year, which coach Frank Croce described as a “great inaugural season.”

However, the Panthers want to improve and be better this year.
The Panthers lost Jazmin Medina, Grace Winchell, Paige Badner, Claire Lischinsky, Tristan Loupe, Madison McKenna, Avery Orr, Mikayla Paribelli and Jillian Tucciarello.

Returning to the Panthers this year are goalkeeper Neveah Jackson, defender Abigail Martino, midfielder Emma DiLemme, midfielder Brianna Merril and midfielder Abigail Martin. Emma Randolph, Emma LaRocco, Jessica Avila and Angelica Marino will join the varsity for the first time this year.

“Graduating nine athletes after our first season is tough, especially when most were key contributors,” Croce said. “With that being said, our underclassmen put in a tremendous amount of time and effort in the offseason to prepare and be ready. They are a positive, hard-working, focused group of young ladies, and I’m excited to see their hard work in action.”