Girls Soccer

On Oct. 18, the Hen Hud girls soccer team wrapped up its regular season with a 4-0 home loss to Ardsley. Goalkeeper Charlotte Gaspar tallied 10 saves in the effort.

Despite the setback, the Sailors (4-11-1) narrowly secured a postseason spot as the No. 17 seed in Class A. In their opening outbracket sectional matchup (Oct. 23), Hen Hud hit the road to face No. 16 Croton and came away with a strong 4-0 shutout victory. Leading the charge was breakout freshman Kinsley Steinhiser, who recorded her second hat trick of the season. Bridget Couch added a goal, while Skyler Selkin and Julianna Povella each contributed an assist.

“It was crucial for us to work together and support each other, and the girls did an amazing job of that tonight,” said head coach William Pagel. “Our stars came through with big moments, but the key to the win was how we played as one cohesive team.”

With the victory, Hen Hud’s season stays alive – but the challenge ahead grows steeper. The Sailors will face undefeated Class A powerhouse Pleasantville (16-0), the tournament’s top seed, in the first round of sectionals on Saturday, Oct. 25. Gametime is set for 11 a.m.

Boys Soccer

The 2025 fall season has come to an end for Hen Hud boys soccer.

On Oct. 17, the Sailors hosted Yonkers for their season finale. Prior to kickoff, the team honored its seniors: Sebastian Cruz, Nick Defrenza, Juan Espinoza, Justin Fernandez, Michael Garcia, and Alex Zhunio.

Hen Hud started strong, as Bruno Leite won the ball near midfield, dribbled past three defenders, and slotted a composed finish inside the near post to give the Sailors an early lead. With nine minutes left in the first half, a Yonkers midfielder played a clever through ball to send their forward in on goal. In a last-ditch effort to prevent a goal, Donato Marsillo made a sliding challenge – getting both the ball and the player. The referee pointed to the spot, awarding Yonkers a penalty. The visitors converted to level the match at 1–1.

Seven minutes into the second half, Hen Hud regained the lead off a deep free kick that caused a scramble in the box. The loose ball found Perry Quaye, who finished from close range for his sixth goal of the season. Just eight minutes later, in a nearly identical situation, another deep free kick from midfield was mishandled by the Yonkers goalkeeper, and Victor Garcia pounced to make it 3-1 Hen Hud.

With 13 minutes remaining, Yonkers pulled one back despite a strong low save from Defrenza, as the rebound fell kindly for a Yonkers attacker to tap home. The Sailors held firm for the final minutes to secure a 3-2 victory.

Wins have been hard to come by for Hen Hud this season, so when the final whistle blew, players rushed the field to celebrate together.

Hen Hud finishes the season with a 4-11-1 record. Perry Quaye led the team in scoring with six goals, followed by Victor Garcia (4) and Bruno Leite (3). Nick Defrenza recorded one clean sheet.

Football

Hen Hen football fought hard on the road at Westlake on Oct. 18, coming up short 44-20 after a gritty effort.

Kane Wamack completed 5-of-9 passes for 45 yards, while Justin Parkes led the way with 12 catches for 106 yards, a touchdown, and a kick return score. Parkes also added 11 tackles on defense. Ethan Walsh rushed for 16 yards and a touchdown, and Jack Hiltsley (26 yards) and Hunter Kennedy-Brown (17 yards) chipped in through the air. On defense, Kennedy-Brown added eight tackles, Vinny Valdes had seven, and Shawn O’Mara contributed five.

Up next, Hen Hud (3-4) travels to Irvington on Saturday, Oct. 25, for their season finale, set to begin at 1:30 p.m.

Field Hockey

The Sailors closed out the regular season at 7-7-2 after back-to-back losses. On Oct. 17, Hen Hud dropped a 4-2 decision to Pawling on the road. Eva Facciolo and Chloe Haseltine each scored, with assists coming from Carleigh Ortiz and Maddie Little. Goalkeeper Kelsey Wong recorded three saves in the effort.

The following week (Oct. 21), Hen Hud narrowly fell 1-0 to Pelham at home in its season finale. In the cage, Wong tallied five saves.

Despite the late setbacks, the Sailors secured the No. 9 seed in Class B and will open postseason play on Saturday, Oct. 25, with a first-round matchup at Nanuet. The game is set for 9:30 a.m. at Nanuet High School.

Boys Volleyball

The Croton/Hen Hud/Briarcliff boys volleyball team continued its dominant run this past week. On Oct. 17, the co-op squad edged Yorktown on the road, 3–2 (22–25, 25–17, 20–25, 27–25, 16–14). Hen Hud’s Anthony Davis tallied 22 kills, while teammate Will McKinley posted 20 kills, 19 digs, and five blocks. Croton’s Julian Chinn added 10 kills and five blocks, and Yanik Ekambaram contributed five kills and nine blocks. Croton’s Oscar Thoreson chipped in with five kills and five blocks, Hen Hud’s Phoenix Hunt registered 22 assists, and Croton’s Jax Weintraub dished out 29 assists. Briarcliff’s Aiden Lee anchored the defense with 52 digs.

The following day, Oct. 18, Croton/Hen Hud/Briarcliff competed in a tournament at Clarkstown South High School. According to head coach Lisa Rudner, the team finished second in pool play behind Clarkstown South and placed sixth overall out of 15 teams – earning the highest ranking among Division II programs. The co-op advanced to the Gold Division before falling to Clarkstown South in the first round.

Croton/Hen Hud/Briarcliff bounced back the next week with decisive road wins over Edgemont on Oct. 21 (25–15, 25–13, 25–15) and Somers on Oct. 22 (25–20, 25–10, 25–14).

Next up, the co-op (14–2) will host Scarsdale B on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m., and Fox Lane on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m.

Girls Volleyball

With the volleyball postseason approaching, Hen Hud is looking to regain its confidence after a string of tough losses.

On Oct. 17, the Sailors fell to Nanuet at home, 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 13-25, 24-26), on Senior Night. At the game, seniors Elizabeth Apienti, Valerie Colina, Anabel Delgado, Julia Nelson, and Kate Stratton were recognized for their contributions to the program.

The following week, Hen Hud dropped a 3-0 decision on the road to Dobbs Ferry (25-21, 25-20, 25-15). In their regular-season finale, the Sailors battled Yonkers in a five-set thriller but ultimately came up short, 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-23, 6-15).

Hen Hud (7-11) is currently on a four-match losing streak, with its last win coming against Irvington on Oct. 9.

With the regular season now complete, postseason brackets are expected to be released in the coming days, with play beginning next week. As it stands, Hen Hud holds the No. 11 seed in Class A.

Girls Tennis 

Hen Hud girls tennis standout Victoria Szostak fell to Savannah Minter of Ursuline in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 singles tournament on Oct. 17, 6-3, 6-3.

Despite the loss, Szostak impressed on her path to the quarters. She opened the tournament with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory over Layna Delk of Byram Hills, then defeated Penelope Hill of John Jay–Cross River, 6-0, 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinals.

With that win, Szostak earned All-Section honors, becoming the first Hen Hud girls’ singles player to do so since 2005. The 2025 Hen Hud girls tennis season is now officially over.

Cross Country

On Oct. 18, Hen Hud athletes traveled to Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls to compete in the Section 1 Coaches Invitational.

In the boys’ varsity 5,000-meter race, Victor Delgado ran a personal best at Bowdoin Park, finishing in 16:27.90 – the second-fastest time out of more than 800 runners across all races that day. His outstanding performance helped Hen Hud secure fifth place overall. Other strong finishes included Joshua Weinstein (11th; 17:20.50), Vivek Sekhri (19th; 17:47.80), Jackson Morley (45th; 18:37.40), and Daniel Valdez (77th; 19:46.80).

On the girls’ side, in the varsity 5,000-meter race, Oona McManus led the team with a 35th-place finish in 22:16.70. She was followed by Isabelle Carvalho (52nd; 23:43.30), Rachael Anderson (63rd; 24:16.00), Sofia Klinger (86th; 26:03.10), and Ava Schembari (99th; 26:53.80).

Up next, Hen Hud will compete at the Section 1 Westchester County Championships at the Hudson Valley Sportsdome in Milton on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Girls Swimming

Croton/Hen Hud picked up its first meet win of the season on Oct. 22, defeating Peekskill, 51-37. The meet, which also served as Senior Night for the co-op squad, featured several standout performances.

Georgia Lee took first place in the 200-meter freestyle, setting a personal best time of 2:41.89. Sofia Donikyan won the 200-meter individual medley with a season-best time of 2:40.60, while Vivien Chen captured first in the 50-meter freestyle with a season-best 25.20. Chen also claimed victory in the 100-meter butterfly, posting another season best of 1:01.85. Rounding out the wins, Adrina Donikyan earned first in the 500-meter freestyle with a personal best of 6:58.48.

With the win, Croton/Hen Hud improves to 1–8 on the season. The team will next compete in the league championship meet on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the EF International Language Campus in Tarrytown, starting at 9 a.m.

College Watch

Women’s Soccer – Division I: Fordham University’s Lena Johnsen (Class of 2023) scored in a 4–1 victory over St. Bonaventure University on Oct. 12. A week later, on Oct. 19, Johnsen secured a 1–0 win for Fordham against George Mason University, breaking the deadlock in the 88th minute with a powerful 20-yard strike into the top right corner of the net. (Watch Johnsen’s goal here)

This season, Johnsen has tallied four goals and four assists for the Fordham Rams, who hold an overall record of 9–6–2.

Women’s Volleyball – Division II: Amya Davis (Class of 2023), a junior outside hitter at Shepherd University, recorded a match-high 15 kills and three aces in the team’s 3–1 win (25–21, 25–22, 17–25, 26–24) over West Chester University on Oct. 18. She followed up with 12 kills and two aces in Shepherd’s 3–2 victory against Fairmont State University on Oct. 21.