Neil Berniker shook his head and took a deep breath. Horace Mann was behind again – 45 seconds into its Ivy Prep League match against Dalton.
“What happens is we don’t play up to our ability early,” the longtime Horace Mann coach said.
The Lions aren’t sure the root of the problem. Some say they aren’t warming up properly. Berniker said an inexperienced backline could be the culprit. Regardless, aside from an early-season loss to Hackley, it hasn’t affected Horace Mann in the win column.
The Lions (5-1-0), tied atop the Ivy with Fieldston and ranked sixth in the city by The Post, answered Dalton’s early tally with three straight goals and cruised to a 4-2 victory Monday on rainy Randall’s Island. The strikes came from four different players – Michael Chon, Owen Elliott, Andrew Arnaboldi and Lyle Dershowitz – and had Dalton keeper Daniel Postal not played so well, the margin would’ve been far wider.
Berniker wasn’t sure what to expect in the preseason as he was breaking in many different players, several of them backups or junior varsity call-ups. Central midfielders Andrew Silberstein and Elliot have surpassed expectations while experienced strikers Toby Lee and Bernie Rawlins have built upon good seasons a year ago and stopper Troy Sipprelle and keeper Aaron Schein have gradually improved.
“I’m proud of where we are so far and we are playing well as a team,” Berniker said. “I’m happy to be in this position. We’re only going to get better I believe.”
That’s a scary proposition for the rest of the league. The Lions have developed a lethal attack which has netted at least two goals in every match and netted three goals on four occasions. After the shaky start, Horace Mann controlled play at the midfield, owning 50/50 balls in the air and on the ground, using its speed on the wings to create chances and finishing enough of them.
“Me and Andrew control the center and from there we have Bernie and Toby up top,” Elliott said. “They turn well and are very fast. If they’re covered, we can attack on the wings. It’s tough to handle us.”
Dalton coach L.M. Echegaray noticed.
“They are very clinical, they know what they want to do,” he said. “It only took them three or four passes to get to our box.”
Dalton’s inconsistency issues, meanwhile, continued. The Tigers (4-4-0) have defeated defending NYSAISAA champion Collegiate, but also lost a pair of one-goal matches. They didn’t fare well on the wet grass – Dalton is used to turf.
“A lot of what happened today, we need to be better,” Echegaray said. “We need to be more physical. We need to be more aggressive. When it’s a 50/50 ball and it’s them against us, we need to win those balls.”
By contrast, Horace Mann has lofty goals – its first Ivy League crown since 2008 and first NYSAISAA title since 2005. The program is perennially one of the league’s best, yet has struggled down the stretch and in the playoffs in recent years. Last November, for instance, it was upset as the second seed by Columbia Prep.
“We were really devastated when we lost in the playoffs last year and that’s serving as motivation to win this year,” said Silberstein, the junior midfielder. “We’re focused on the next game and towards a great goal of winning the Ivy League and NYSAISAA because we think we’re the best team.”