Samantha Richman is called the bionic woman by her Riverdale girls lacrosse team. She was called a hero on Sunday after her nearly not playing this season.
The senior attack missed all of last year after having major surgery to repair a torn tendon on the outside of her big toe. She told coach Carol Pouliot that she was thinking about giving up the sport because of the pain it would cause. Pouliot left the door open for her return and sure enough there was Richman in February wanting to get back into it.
“This year she just sucked it up and said I’m going to play no matter what,” the coach said.
Denis Gostev
Riverdale's Lindsay Picard scored four goals in a win over Poly Prep Sunday.
It was a good thing for the Falcons. It was Richman who scored the game-winner off a pass from Isabella Bertagna with 28 seconds left. The goal completed a wild No. 4 Riverdale comeback in a 16-15 win against rival No. 5 Poly Prep in the NYSAISAA girls lacrosse quarterfinals in The Bronx on Sunday in a rematch of last year’s final won by Riverdale. It was Richman’s second goal of the game as her team scored the game’s final four goals. The Falcons advance to face top-seeded Hackley 3:30 p.m. Monday in the semifinals.
“She started in March and has been playing like a trooper all season,” Pouliot said.
Poly scored five straight third quarter goals to grab a 10-9 lead. Northwestern-bound midfielder Jessica Dahldorf scored her fifth goal of the game to give the Blue Devils a 15-12 lead with 5:00 remaining in the game. Then the Riverdale comeback began. Madeline Hopper scored her sixth and seventh goals around a Linday Picard score on a restart to tie the score at 15 with a minute remaining to set up Richman’s heroics.
“We were all kind of frazzled, but the momentum switched,” Pouliot said.
Picard had four goals and one assist, Bertagna had two goals and an assist and Sam Light added a score for Riverdale (10-3), ranked No. 1 in the city by The Post. Sam Domurat found the back of the net four times for Poly and Jane Tewksbury scored three goals. The second-ranked Blue Devils (9-4) came back to beat Riverdale in two of their last five meetings, including the first one this year 13-12.
Hackley, the Ivy League champions, have not lost to a private school team all season, but managed just a one-goal win over Riverdale that last time the two teams. It has the Falcons going into the semifinals with some confidence.
“If we can play like we did today and today will give us confidence, we were down three goals,” Pouliot said. “We know we can do it.”
No. 7 Fieldston, No. 2 Long Island Lutheran 9: Chloe Chasanoff scored nine goals, Rowyn Paul had two and Jill Gold and Emmy Hamilton added two goals and an assist for No. 7 Fieldston (7-6). Goalie Sydney Bryant made 14 saves as the jumped ahead 9-0 in the first half. LuHi (13-3) got within 10-4 at the break. The Eagles visit No. 6 Holy Child 3:30 p.m. Monday in the semifinals.
“They played so so hard today,” Fieldston coach Sara Gorman said. “They just all put it together today. It was the best I’ve seen them play all season long.
OTHER SCORES
No. 6 Holy Child, No. 3 Rye Country Day
No. 1 Hackley 16, No. 8 Portledge 5
jstaszewski@nypost.com
Carol Pouliot, Riverdale, Samantha Richman, Lindsay Picard, Blue Devils, Pouliot, Poly Prep, the Falcons online
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