BOYS’ SOCCER — After winning the Class C state title in 2022, the Blue Devils were disappointed in 2023 when their season ended in the Section I semifinals with a 1-0 loss to North Salem at home in extra time.
The team lost 10 seniors to graduation, including captains Clem Grossman (now at Vassar), Matt Nachamkin (playing basketball for Williams College) and goalkeeper Ronan Kiter (now at Denison).
The captains for the upcoming campaign are seniors Brandt Robbins and Matthew Silhavy, who is back in the fold after missing last season with an ACL injury. Coach Ahmed Dwidar, in his 10th year, suspects both players will take the field with chips on their shoulders. “Silhavy is hungry because he hasn’t played in a year,” Dwidar said, and Robbins suffered a concussion that kept him out of the final games of his junior year, including the tournament.
The Blue Devils will also rely on junior defender Ty Villella, whom Dwidar described as “world class,” junior Roth Westphal, who will play striker, and junior wing Samuel Cardona.
Haldane opens its season hosting Yonkers Montessori Academy today (Sept. 6) and Dobbs Ferry on Sept. 11. Select games will be broadcast online at team1sports.com and locallive.tv.
GIRLS’ SOCCER — In their first game on Tuesday (Sept. 3), the Blue Devils suffered a 7-2 loss at home against Blind Brook, who scored six goals in the first half. Haldane scored its goals — by junior Anna-Catherine Nelson and sophomore Stella Gretina — in the span of a minute. Haldane hosts Woodlands at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 12).
The Blue Devils lost only two seniors to graduation — striker Finola Kiter and goalie Ruby Poses — and this year have 10 on the roster, which shrank from 24 to 18 players. Seventeen of those players are returning from last season, which ended with a 2-1 loss to Leffell in the Section I, Class C semifinals.
Although a sophomore, Esther Amato, succeeds Poses in goal, second-year Coach Mary Callaghan noted that most of her players are juniors and seniors. “There is a sense of maturity on the field,” she said.
Key players will be senior Amelia Alayon, who will lead the attack with Nelson and Gretina; senior Josie Foley-Hedlund and junior Marisa Peters at midfield; and senior defender Martha McBride. Callaghan said sophomore Taya Robinson can play any position.
The girls compete in a league with Croton-Harmon, North Salem, Pawling and Putnam Valley. Select games will be broadcast online at team1sports.com and locallive.tv.
VOLLEYBALL — The Blue Devils, who opened their season on Thursday (Sept. 5) hosting Yonkers Montessori Academy, travel to Brewster on Monday (Sept. 9) and Hastings on Wednesday. Haldane hopes to improve on a 1-14 season in 2023 in which the team did not qualify for the postseason.
