Bronxville’s field hockey team might not have had the chance to defend its state championship due to coronavirus restrictions on out-of-region play this year, but the squad certainly made the most of every opportunity they had. On Nov. 20, the Broncos turned in a blistering performance against Hastings to cap off the season, beating the Yellow Jackets 3-0 to claim the Southern Westchester Small School title in impressive fashion.
Bronxville, who won the Class B state title in 2019, faltered somewhat in the tail end of the regular season this year, dropping its last four games of the regular season. Once the playoffs started, however, the Broncos’ postseason pedigree was evident as the team bulldozed through the semifinal and championship rounds, outscoring its opponents 7-0.
On Friday, the Broncos wasted little time before striking against the Yellow Jackets, as Carmen Phillips put them on the board just over two minutes into the game.
One minute into the second quarter, sophomore Ellie Clifford collected a pass from Isabela Fenner to give the Broncos an insurance goal. Phillips added another for good measure with 2:23 left on the clock.
“Our defense was playing well,” Clifford said. “So I think we definitely felt confident after that second goal.”
In fact, Bronxville’s defense turned away every potential scoring chance by Hastings, which was unable to mount a single shot on goal against goalie Rachel Roberts. The Broncos also dominated the Yellow Jackets on corner chances, 16-3.
“This has definitely been such a positive thing at the end of this year because this year has been so crazy,” Clifford said. “At the beginning of the year, we didn’t even know if we were going to have a season, so being able to come home with this win, it means so much.”
Bronxville finished the season with an 8-4-1 record and should be poised to contend for a Section I championship in 2021 due to the number of younger players who made significant contributions during this year’s title run. The Broncos only graduate five seniors—four of them starters—from this year’s squad, although Clifford praised captains Marielle Dibbini and Caroline Palermo for keeping the young team focused in a year filled with distractions.
“Caroline and Marielle have been such amazing captains and even though we didn’t get to defend our state championship, they made sure we were always on top of everything,” Clifford said. “They made sure that this year counted just as much as any other year.”
