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Brooke Cergol races for the loose ball. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Ashley Petrizzo steals a pass. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Gabby Sartori tosses the ball into play. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Michaela Cameron sends the ball out of Mount Sinai's zone. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Mount Sinai fans cheer on the girls' soccer team. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Olivia Williams battles for possession. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Antonia Calamas sends the ball into play. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Casey Schmitt grabs a pass. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Caiya Schuster blocks a corner kick. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Victoria Johnson sends the ball out of Mount Sinai's zone. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Missy Carpenito reaches for the ball. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Ashley Petrizzo prepares to pass with a defender on her back. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Mount Sinai fans cheer on the girls' soccer team. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Emily Seiter waits for the ball to drop to send it out of Mount Sinai's zone. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Brooke Cergol grabs the ball. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Casey Schmitt controls an inbounds pass. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Missy Carpenito dribbles the ball down the sideline. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Gabby Sartori hurls the ball into play. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Leah Nonnenmann dribbles the ball downfield. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Family members cheer on the Mount Sinai girls' soccer team following it's Long Island championship loss. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Garden City hasn’t allowed a goal in 460 minutes of postseason play.

Despite Mount Sinai’s best efforts — like Caiya Schuster’s 11 saves in goal — one small miscue sealed the deal for the Mustangs, with an early Trojans goal that gave the team a 1-0 win Nov. 4 for the Class A Long Island championship title.

After consecutive scoreless 110-minute games leading to penalty-kick victories, Garden City received a contribution from an unlikely source in the first half.

With Schuster drawn out of the box, sophomore Gracie McManus corralled a loose ball and scored with 16:12 remaining in the half for a well-timed first varsity goal.

Garden City (12-4-2) dominated the pace throughout the first half, keeping Casey Schmitt — who scored five goals in the previous two games — contained.

Mount Sinai, which won the Class A title as the No. 4 seed, finished the season 12-4-2.

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The Mount Sinai girls' soccer team made history by edging out Harbrofields in overtime for the program's first county crown. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Casey Schmitt battles for the ball at midfield. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Ashley Petrizzo dribbles the ball through midfield. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Victoria Johnson sends the ball up the field. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Mount Sinai fans cheer on the girls' soccer team. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Casey Schmitt stops the ball to change direction. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Missy Carpineto moves the ball downfield. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Leah Nonnenmann dribbles the ball. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Caiya Schuster and Gabby Sartori embrace one another following the victory. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Mount Sinai's girls' soccer team lifts of co-captain Casey Schmitt in celebration of the team's first county title win. Photo by Desirée Keegan

By Desirée Keegan

Captain Casey Schmitt continues to sprinkle her name throughout Mount Sinai’s record book.

The senior forward scored three goals to help the Mustangs to their first Suffolk County title over Harborfields Nov. 1. Her hat trick goal was the game-winner in the first 10-minute overtime session.

“It’s the greatest thing to ever happen to me,” she said following the victory. “We just made history.”

“Harborfields thought we got lucky, but we showed them. We came out with intensity and proved to people right away why we’re here.”

— Casey Schmitt

The No. 4 Mustangs upset No. 1-seeded and previously undefeated Islip on penalty kicks to reach the county finals for the first time. Schmitt scored the game-tying goal in that matchup. The team then found itself up against the No. 2 Tornadoes, which hadn’t lost a game since its first matchup of the season.

“A lot of the teams tend to underestimate us,” said junior goalkeeper Caiya Schuster, who made 12 saves in each of the last two games. “They say, ‘Mount Sinai, who’s that? What have they done?’ In a sense, yeah, we’re the underdogs, but we definitely don’t let the other team think we’re the underdog. As soon as we come out, we try to do all that we can. We show them this is Mount Sinai and this is what we’re capable of.”

Schuster and her team did just that. She scored her first goal in the 19th minute, after Harborfields goalkeeper Ava McKane came out of the box to make a save. Schuster pushed through when McKane failed to secure the ball, just like her head coach Courtney Leonard always advises the girls to do.

“The three goals speaks for itself,” Leonard said of her co-captain. “Casey knew what she had to do, and she got it done.”

Schmitt scored again in the 28th minute to make it 2-0, but Harborfields’ Caroline Rosales wasn’t going to let her team go down without a fight. She scored in the 38th minute, and added the equalizer 10 minutes later when she dribbled through Mount Sinai’s defense and beat Schuster.

“In a sense, yeah, we’re the underdogs, but we definitely don’t let the other team think we’re the underdog.”

—Caiya Schuster

“Islip didn’t take us seriously, and we beat them,” Schuster said. “Harborfields thought we got lucky, but we showed them. We came out with intensity and proved to people right away why we’re here.”

With the score tied at the end of regulation, two 10-minute overtime sessions ensued. Schuster scored in the first, five minutes in, and her team defended for the final 15.

“We’re elated — each win gets better and better and shows that anything’s possible if you put your mind to it,” Leonard said. “It shows the leadership of this group of young women. They’ve led by example all year. From one end to the other we’re extremely strong, and [Schmitt and Schuster], along with their surrounding teammates, are so reliable. Winning the game last Friday, today’s victory, it’s a little piece of history for Mount Sinai and I’m so proud to be a part of it. The sky’s the limit.”

Mount Sinai will face Garden City in the Long Island championship Nov. 4 at St. Joseph’s College at 4 p.m.

While Schuster said she’s not an emotional person, she couldn’t help but cry as the announcer counted down the final seconds. She’s hoping to come away with the same feeling Friday.

“I love that my team doesn’t let the pressure and the fact that people underestimate us effect them,” Schuster said. “Everyone wanted it, not just for themselves, but for everyone else.”

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Casey Schmitt dribbles the ball up the field. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The first round of playoffs is a hurdle the Mount Sinai girls’ soccer team hasn’t been able to jump over in some time.

The Mustangs fell to No. 3 Elwood-John Glenn 1-0 last season, and No. 1 Sayville the year prior, 3-0, and despite an 8-3-1 record, didn’t see the postseason the year before that.

Missy Carpenito receives a pass. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Missy Carpenito receives a pass. Photo by Desirée Keegan

This time, the No. 4-seeded senior-laden squad, and more specifically, its three co-captains, had other ideas, and blanked No. 5 visiting Comsewogue 3-0 in the Class A first round Oct. 25.

“We’ve worked so hard to accomplish this goal,” senior outside midfielder Missy Carpenito said. “We finally made it.”

The co-captain was first to light up the scoreboard when she stuffed in a rebound off Comsewogue senior goalkeeper Erica Hickey’s save with just over 17 minutes left in the first half. Sophomore striker Gabby Sartori assisted on the play.

“I saw the ball coming across with the rebound from the goalie, and coach [Courtney Leonard] says to always make that rebound, so I went for it,” Carpenito said.

Leading 1-0 at half time, Mount Sinai’s head coach gave her team the reality check it needed.

“Tighten it up,” Leonard told her girls. “This is possibly the sloppiest game we played all season. They’re winning practically every 50/50 ball. Was that not our goal?”

Although the Mustangs still struggled to win possession of loose balls, senior sweeper Antonia Calamas had an opportunity to extend the lead, and made it count.

At the 22:33 mark, senior forward Leah Nonnenmann was knocked down heading to goal, and Calamas came up to take the free kick.

Emily Seiter tosses the ball into play. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Emily Seiter tosses the ball into play. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“I don’t get to score a lot, so that was really exciting for me,” the co-captain said. “Most of us have been playing together since last season. A lot of us play on travel too, so we’ve been working together for so long that playing with each other just comes naturally to us.”

And with Calamas’ goal, the Mustangs were up by two.

Six minutes later, Calamas showed her strength on the defensive side of the ball. With the Warriors knowing they didn’t have much time to level the score, the team made offensive pushes that forced Mount Sinai off its game. As junior goalkeeper Caiya Schuster came out of the box after making a save, Comsewogue found itself with the ball again, and tried to capitalize on the miscue. That’s when Calamas came in to knock the ball out of bounds to preserve the shutout.

“They were playing with three strikers up top, and we’re not used to that, so I think that’s why we had a couple of breakdowns,” Calamas said. “But I wasn’t worried because I knew we could handle it. Even if it does get crazy sometimes, I stay calm.”

With less than 10 minutes left to play, senior defender Victoria Johnson made a similar play, where she blocked a shot with Schuster out of the net.

“We had some scary mishaps on defense that we were able to clear, and that saved us,” Leonard said. “We’ve been covering for each other all year and I think the girls did a great job of it today. If one man is literally down on the floor, the next one is clearing the ball out and helping them up. We played as a cohesive unit.”

Her team also finished when it needed to finish, and senior forward Casey Schmitt put the game out of reach when she scored off another Comsewogue rebound. After Carpenito raced up top and took a shot from the far post, the co-captain caught the rebounded save on the other side, and made contact to knock the ball in.

Antonia Calamas is embraced by her teammates after scoring the second goal of the game. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Antonia Calamas is embraced by her teammates after scoring the second goal of the game. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Mount Sinai’s head coach was proud to see her players fight through the first round, but wasn’t shy when saying her team needs to get back into form.

“It’s not our best performance so far,’’ she said. “I would’ve liked to see much more of a possession game; I would’ve liked to see us use the outsides more, but in the end, we got it done.”

She’s hoping the girls will continue to grow, and thinks that can be done when Mount Sinai goes up against No. 1 Islip Oct. 28 at 2:30 p.m.

“Islip is obviously a great team and a great program, but eventually you’re going to face a great team and a great program, so we’re looking forward to it,” Leonard said. “We’re welcoming the challenge.”

The Mustangs have already seen Islip twice this season. The first time, a 4-1 loss on Sept. 10, and the second, a 3-1 defeat on Sept. 29.

Despite the outcome, Sartori said her team will be ready to fight. She said if any team can continue to overcome obstacles, it’s this one.

“I’ve been waiting four long years for this,” she said of making the postseason. “Facing Islip is going to be hard, but I think we will rise to the challenge and make our mark.”

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The football team's seniors show their Mustang pride on homecoming day Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior running back Joseph Pirreca breaks a tackle before moving the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. Photo by Bill Landon
Members of Mount Sinai Middle School's student council march in the homecoming parade Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Little Mustangs move through the cartoon-themed homecoming parade Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Class of 2010 Looney Tunes float makes it way through the homecoming parade Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
The homecoming court makes its way through the parade Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Class of 2018 float makes its way through the homecoming parade Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
North Shore Colts youth cheerleaders march in Mount Sinai's homecoming parade Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai community members march in the homecoming parade Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai Elementary School students march in the homecoming parade Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Homecoming king Nick Glendenning, and queen Cristina Gulli wave to the crowd. Photo by Bill Landon
Seniors sing the national anthem before the Mustangs' homecoming game Oct. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Cheerleaders engage the crowd in homecoming festivities. Photo by Bill Landon
Seniors Bobby Christ, Jason Shlonsky and Mike Carnerio were the three starting seniors on homecoming day. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior wide receiver Andrew Fiore grabs a pass. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior quarterback Jason Shlonsky catches a kickoff return. Photo by Bill Landon
Sophomore running back Richard Harris evades a tackle and crosses the goal line for a touchdown. Photo by Bill Landon
Junior tight end Hared Donnelly catches a 13-yard touchdown pass. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior wide receiver Anthony Fiore successfully grabs a 41-yard touchdown pass. Photo by Bill Landon
Sophomore running back Richard Harris carries the ball up the field. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Mount Sinai’s Jason Shlonsky threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another on the way to the Mustangs’ 34-14 homecoming win over Greenport/Southold/Mattituck Oct. 15.

The win was never in question, as Mount Sinai jumped out to an early 21-0 lead with three unanswered touchdowns by the beginning of the second quarter.

From under center, senior quarterback Shlonsky rolled to his right and threw a strike to senior wide receiver Andrew Fiore, who caught the ball in stride and advanced to the Porter’s 10-yard line. On the next play, Shlonsky ran the ball into the end zone on a 3-yard keeper play for six points. Mount Sinai junior kicker Colin McCarthy made it 7-0 seven minutes in on his point-after attempt.

“They’re actually a very good team — they came out to a really good start,” Shlonsky said of Greenport. “But we had a lot of success throwing the ball. My line gave me time to throw the ball in space, and my receivers ran great routs and [Greenport] didn’t pick up on it. So it went the way we expected.”

The pair struck again when Shlonsky dropped back and connected with Fiore for a 41-yard strike two minutes later. With McCarthy’s kick, the Mustangs edged ahead 14-0.

“My line gave me time to throw the ball in space, and my receivers ran great routs and [Greenport] didn’t pick up on it.”

— Jason Shlonsky

Mount Sinai junior running back Joseph Pirreca took a handoff up the middle next, and although had trouble finding an opening, made something out of nothing when he bounced outside and turned on the jets as he rushed the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. McCarthy, who was perfect on the afternoon, made it a 21-point game.

With the cushion, Mount Sinai head coach Vinnie Ammirato pulled his starters and went deep into his bench to get the younger athletes some playing time.

“We have a lot of young kids — a lot of kids who didn’t get a chance to play last year — so I think for us nothing ever comes easy,” Ammirato said. “But as long as we keep working hard — keep getting better every week — [we’ll be OK]. We do start a freshman four sophomores, and we only start three seniors, so every week is a work in progress.”

Mount Sinai senior Jake Knab who is ordinarily a wide receiver and a defensive back, took over as the quarterback until the halftime break.

Just as effective running the ball as throwing it, Shlonsky returned to open the second half with a 50-yard kickoff return for a first-and-10 on the Porter’s 24-yard line. The Porter’s defense stood its ground through, and took over on downs.

Greenport began a march downfield on its next possession, and finally put six points on the scoreboard with 4:49 remaining in the third stanza, on a 52-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline. The Porters chose to go for a 2-point conversion, but the Mustangs’ defensive line had other ideas, and made the block.

On the ensuing kickoff, Mount Sinai senior running back Mike Carneiro raced away with a 50-yard return, and the Mustangs went back to work on the Porters’ 38-yard line.

The two-touchdown difference prompted Ammirato to reinstate his starters. With Shlonsky back under center, the quarterback threw the ball to junior tight end Jared Donnelly, who crossed over the middle and turned it up field — dashing 13 yards into the end zone. McCarthy followed by splitting the uprights for a 28-6 advantage.

“I knew we could come back and get the job done. We’ve got the right mindset and our team is strong enough to come out, fire back at them and score again.”

— Jared Donnelly

“I wasn’t too worried [after their second score],” Donnelly said of Greenport. “I knew we could come back and get the job done. We’ve got the right mindset and our team is strong enough to come out, fire back at them and score again.”

On the ensuing kickoff, it went from bad to worse for the Porters when the kickoff return man hit a brick wall named Christian Sartori. The senior defensive lineman ripped the ball loose, and his younger brother Andrew Sartori, a sophomore linebacker, recovered it to put the Mustangs in commanding field position.

Again, Ammirato recalled his starters and Knab went back to work for the final quarter.

Mount Sinai sophomore running back Richard Harris carried the ball 18 yards and across the goal line for the final Mustangs score of the afternoon. Mount Sinai took a knee following the touchdown, foregoing the extra point in the spirit of sportsmanship.

Greenport managed one final touchdown as the clock unwound.

Carneiro led the way for the Mustangs with eight carries for 121 yards, followed by Harris with 66 yards on 11 carries and Pirreca grounded out 60 yards in five attempts. Shlonsky finished the day with 121 yards through the air.

With the win, Mount Sinai improved to 3-3 in Division IV with three games remaining before the postseason begins.

“We had a very good week of practice — we knew what we were [getting] into coming into this game, we were very prepared; we played hard,” Fiore said. “We made a couple of mistakes that we’ll have to fix to be ready for next week, which is a very important game.”

Mount Sinai hits the road Oct. 21 to play neighboring Miller Place (4-2 in league play), where Ammirato will have to find a way to contain his son, and Panthers powerhouse running back Tyler Ammirato. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

 

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Mount Sinai held its Class of 2016 commencement ceremony on Saturday evening, June 25.

The bleachers were filled to capacity as Superintendent Gordon Brosdal congratulated the students and offered some advice.

Mount Sinai staff members and members of the school board handed out diplomas and cheered on the students, while valedictorian Patrick Hanaj and salutatorian Justine Quan gave poignant speeches. The band and choir performed to add to the festivities, and students were all smiles as they walked up on stage to receive their diplomas. The now former Mustangs then tossed their caps toward the sky in celebration.

 

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Mount Sinai graduates listen to speeches before walking up on stage to receive their diplomas. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai Superintendent Gordon Brosdal addresses the Class of 2016. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates listen to speeches before walking up on stage to receive their diplomas. Photo by Bill Landon
The Mount Sinai band performs during the Class of 2016 commencement ceremony. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates are all smiles as they listen to speeches before walking up on stage to receive their diplomas. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai valedictorian Patrick Hanaj speaks to the graduating class. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates receive their diplomas. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates receive their diplomas. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates decorated their caps for the Class of 2016 commencement ceremony. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai salutatorian Justine Quan gives a speech during the Class of 2016 commencement ceremony. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates receive their diplomas. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's senior choir performs a tune during graduation. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates are all smiles as they listen to speeches before walking up on stage to receive their diplomas. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates decorated their caps for the Class of 2016 commencement ceremony. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai graduates toss their caps into the air in celebration. Photo by Bill Landon

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Award recognizes best girls' lacrosse team in Suffolk County

The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team earned the Founder's Cup after claiming it's second consecutive Class C state title. Photo from Al Bertolone

Mount Sinai is still dominating the girls’ lacrosse world.

For the second time since 2013, the Mustangs earned the Long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation’s Founder’s Cup, which is given to the best girls’ high school lacrosse team in Suffolk County.

“This team definitely overcame adversity to get back to where we wanted to,” sophomore Camryn Harloff said. “Considering we lost huge stars on our team, everyone wrote us off and never thought we could make it up there again, so this season has definitely meant a lot to us, showing everyone that we still have it in us. And we aren’t done yet.”

The Mustangs’ motto was “clear eyes, full hearts can’t lose,” and the girls stayed true to that, losing just three games — one being a Division II matchup — the entire season.

“It was an awesome feeling knowing the cup was back in our possession,” senior Caroline Hoeg said. “This final season is bittersweet. Leaving such an amazing team, season and career behind, back in Mount Sinai, makes me upset, but it makes me realize how lucky I truly am. I know there are great things ahead, but I will forever remember this team and season, and I know they’re going to keep continuing to prove people wrong.”

The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team won the Founder's Cup, which is given to the best girls' lacrosse team in Suffolk County. Photo from Al Bertolone
The Mount Sinai girls’ lacrosse team won the Founder’s Cup, which is given to the best girls’ lacrosse team in Suffolk County. Photo from Al Bertolone

After all the doubt, the girls topped stiff competition in Bayport-Blue Point and Cold Spring Harbor for the Suffolk County and Long Island titles, and took that momentum all the way to the state finals, where the team won its second consecutive title.

“It is a great honor and shows that hard work pays off,” junior Hannah Van Middelem said of winning the cup. “This season has been very special. We really came together as a team and played our hearts out.”

Harloff said her teammates stepped up and rose to the challenge, taking on leadership roles and doing what they needed to do to make this season go as smoothly as it did.

“Meaghan Tyrrell was a huge aspect in our offense, Emily Vengilio was a brick on defense and especially Hannah Van Middelem in net,” she said. “And of course, we can’t forget how clutch Erica Shea was on the draw. She came up big in the times that we needed her.”

Junior Leah Nonnenmann said that like head coach Al Bertolone said, the team doesn’t rebuild, it reloads, and that’s exactly what the girls did.

“My teammates and I were so anxious sitting at the awards dinner waiting for the winner to be announced and when it was us, you could see the excitement in all our faces,” she said. “And when you looked at our parents, you could see how proud they all were.”

Tyrrell said the entire experience and the feelings that come along with it are hard to put into words, but she’s proud of her team’s accomplishments, and is also looking forward to what lies ahead.

“It is one of the most honored awards a team can be given, so we were very proud of ourselves,” she said. “This season has meant so much to me because everyone thought that after our past seniors graduated, we would fall off the face of the lacrosse world. Coming back and working so hard to prove that we can be as great, and getting back up to states and winning just completed our season perfectly. It makes me excited to see what next season brings. And the season after that.”

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Mustangs' suffocating defense holds off Skaneateles, while offense racks up 12 goals in win, to prove these girls are just as strong as those on last season's squad

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The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team gathers together in celebration of its Class C state final win. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's girls' lacrosse team poses for a group photo following the Mustangs' 12-3 win over Skaneateles for the Class C state championship crown. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Meaghan Scutaro and Leah Nonnenmann hug it out following the Class C state win. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's defense holds off Skaneateles' offense. Photo by Adrian Szkolar
Mount Sinai's Emily Vengilio and Caroline Hoeg push away Skaneateles' offense. Photo by Adrian Szkolar
Mount Sinai's Meaghan Tyrrell rockets a shot past Skaneateles; goalkeeper. Photo by Adrian Szkolar
Action during the New York State girls lacrosse Class C state final between Mount Sinai and Skaneateles at SUNY Cortland on Saturday, June 11th, 2016. Mount Sinai won 12-3.
Mount Sinai's Camryn Harloff fires a shot on net. Photo by Adrian Szkolar
Mount Sinai's Meaghan Tyrrell, who scored a hat trick in the Class C semifinal and state final wins, stops to change direction and fire a shot at the cage. Photo by LIsa Nonnenmann
Girls from Mount Sinai's lacrosse team embrace one another following the win. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Meaghan Scutaro hugs head coach Al Bertolone following the Mustangs' Class C state final win. Photo by Adrian Szkolar
Mount Sinai's Jenna Signorile passes the ball. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Leah Nonnenmann moves the ball through midfield. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Erica Shea maintains possession as she heads toward the cage. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Hannah Van Middelem reaches up to make a save while Jenna Signorile reaches up to block the shot. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Hannah Van Middelem, the tournament MVP, awaits Skaneateles' free position shot, which she bats away. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Emma Tyrrell lines up to take a free position shot. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse players Leah Nonnenmann, Camryn Harloff and Emma Tyrrell celebrate a Mustangs goal. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's defense plays keepaway. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Leah Nonnenmann grabs possession of the loose ball midair. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Camryn Harloff maintains possession as she makes her way toward the cage. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Skaneateles defenders chase Erica Shea out while she maintains possession after she couldn't create an open lane. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's girls' lacrosse team celebrates on the field immediately following the Mustangs' Class C state final win. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
Mount Sinai's Meaghan Scutaro and Meaghan Tyrrell embrace one another following the state finals win. Photo by Adrian Szkolar
Mount Sinai's girls' lacrosse team reaches up to fans following the Mustangs' 12-3 win over Skaneateles for the Class C state championship title. Photo by Adrian Szkolar
Mount Sinai head coach Al Bertolone embraces tournament MVP and Mustangs goalkeeper Hannah Van Middelem after she receives her award. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann
The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team gathers together in celebration of its Class C state final win. Photo by Lisa Nonnenmann

By Adrian Szkolar

Even though Saturday was her birthday, Hannah Van Middelem was focused on other things.

The Mount Sinai junior goalkeeper’s mindset was instead the same as her teammates’, and all they were thinking was: officially prove the many doubters wrong with the last game of the season.

Playing against Section III’s Skaneateles in the Class C state final at SUNY Cortland, the Mustangs played their usual strong defensive game, shutting down the Lakers’ offense on their way to a 12-3 win and second consecutive state title.

Mission accomplished.

“We just wanted to come out, play as a team and win,” said Van Middelem, who made five saves and was named the tournament’s MVP after the game. “No one ever picked us to win any games. We just wanted to prove everyone wrong.”

All in all, the MVP award and the state title were pretty good birthday gifts.

“It’s special to me, but really my defense helped me win it,” she said. “We communicated with each other and listened to each other. We just played a great team game today.”

After graduating seven players from last year’s state title-winning team, including last year’s state tournament MVP in Kasey Mitchell, few gave Mount Sinai the thought of being able to repeat.

To start, the team’s younger players had to step up to fill the void on offense, and the team would have to improve defensively.

“People doubted us all year, and rightly so, but it’s a testament to our program that our kids have been able to step up and fill the breach,” Mount Sinai head coach Al Bertolone said. “We didn’t rebuild, we re-loaded. We pushed them all year, and they accepted the challenge and every week, we kept getting better.”

The improvement the team made since the start the season was especially evident against Skaneateles.

After Mount Sinai senior midfielder Caroline Hoeg and Skaneateles’ Abby Kuhns exchanged goals to start the game, the Mustangs opened the floodgates.

First came a goal from senior midfielder Erica Shea, who took a feed from Hoeg in front while unmarked and easily finished at the 13:22 mark.

Then there was a goal from sophomore Camryn Harloff. Then senior Meghan Walker. Then junior Leah Nonnenmann. Then sophomore Meaghan Tyrrell.

The Mustangs went into halftime with a 6-1 lead, with six different goal scorers.

“From the beginning, we knew we had to come out strong because [Skaneateles] wasn’t going to let up,” said Shea, who is also the team’s primary draw taker. “We had to come out of the box roaring, and that’s what we did.”

Harloff, an attack, and junior midfielder Rayna Sabella tacked on two more goals to start the second half to put the game out of reach.

Tyrrell, an attack, finished with three goals for the second straight game, and added an assist. Shea also had three goals, Harloff netted two goals and an assist, and Hoeg contributed a goal and an assist.

While Mount Sinai, which came into the game ranked third in Class C in the New York State Sportswriters’ Association rankings, and was the favorite coming into the finals, that was far from the case back at the start of the playoffs.

Most observers saw Bayport-Blue Point, an unbeaten team featuring All-American Kerrigan Miller, along with Nassau County’s Cold Spring Harbor, a team with wins against bigger lacrosse powerhouses such as Garden City and Rockland County’s Suffern, as the favorites for the state title.

Back in April, the Mustangs were dismantled by Bayport-Blue Point in a 10-2 loss.

“When you have adversity in your season, it can either galvanize and make you stronger or break you up,” Bertolone said. “It made us stronger. We believe in pressure defense, and our kids bought into it.”

A month later, the Mustangs turned heads by shocking Bayport-Blue Point in the county final, and followed that up with an upset over Cold Spring Harbor in the Long Island championship to get back to Cortland.

After that, the road to the championship was paved. Before Saturday’s game, the Mustangs got a comfortable 10-3 win over Section V’s Honeoye Falls-Lima in Friday’s state semifinals.

“It feels good to be the underdog and come out on top,” Shea said. “This year, it’s really special; no one believed in us, and we proved people wrong, from counties all the way to here. And now we’re state champs.”

After Saturday’s game, Van Middelem said that the team’s celebration of the title win, her birthday and proving the non-believers her team could remain its own powerhouse, would be relatively low-key.

“We’ll just have a fun bus ride home,” she said.

A fine way to celebrate proving the critics wrong.

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Mustangs win second consecutive Long Island title with 7-5 win over Cold Spring Harbor

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Caroline Hoeg raises up the championship plaque as the Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team shouts in celebration of its second consecutive Long Island title. Photo by Desirée Keegan
The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team gets pumped up prior to the Class C Long Island championship game. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Erica Shea clicks her teammate's sticks as the Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team gets pumped up during the stick check. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Hannah Van Middelem makes a save. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Erica Shea moves the ball toward the cage. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Caroline Hoeg pulls back in preparation to fire a shot at the cage. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Emma Tyrrell maintains possession while a defender tries to force her out of bounds. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Leah Nonnenmann moves the ball toward the cage. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Meghan Walker shoots and scores. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Meaghan Tyrrell shoots the ball. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Camryn Harloff maintains possession with a Cold Spring Harbor defender on her back. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Erica Shea grabs a loose ball in mid-air. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Erica Shea leaps up in celebration of a goal. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Meaghan Tyrrell scoops up the ground ball between two Cold Spring Harbor defenders. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Rayna Sabella moves the ball into Cold Spring Harbor's zone with a defender on her hip. Photo by Desirée Keegan
The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team embraces one another to celebrate the Mustangs' second consecutive Class C Long Island championship title. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Camryn Harloff hugs her father after the Class C Long Island championship win. Photo by Desirée Keegan
The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team reaches up to touch the new hardware after holding off Cold Spring Harbor, 7-5, for the Class C Long Island championship crown. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Jenna Signorile and Erica Shea shout in celebration. Photo by Desirée Keegan
The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team outscored is No. 1 on Long Island for the second consecutive season. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Senior midfielder Erica Shea crouched along the sideline below the stands and whispered as she pulled up her hands to pray.

“Let’s go,” she shouted, after stepping out onto the field and clicking her stick against those of her teammates. “Can’t lose,” she and her team said as they exited the huddle before the start of the game.

Her prayers were answered or maybe not even needed, but either way she’s right — her Mount Sinai girls’ lacrosse team can’t lose. The Mustangs played a man down for the last 10 minutes of the game and, despite letting up three goals in that span, still came away with the Long Island Class C championship title with a 7-5 win over Cold Spring Harbor on June 5 at Stony Brook University.

The team proved that defense still wins championships.

“We’re always defense first,” head coach Al Bertolone said. “We have a very strong nonleague schedule — we were in a lot of tough games. Our kids learned how to play gritty and tough in these moments.”

Mount Sinai scored three goals to open the first half. Immediately following a Hannah Van Middelem save just minutes into the game, sophomore attack Camryn Harloff scored first after carrying the ball down the back side of the field for a goal. Senior midfielder Caroline Hoeg scored off a Shea feed minutes later, and junior attack and midfielder Leah Nonnenmann tacked on the third unassisted with 18:35 still left in the first half.

After a brief hiccup in which the senior goalkeeper let up a rare goal, senior attack and midfielder Meghan Walker dumped the ball in up front off a pass from Nonnenmann, after the junior couldn’t squeeze past defenders, pulled back and saw the open look for Walker.

Next, junior midfielder Rayna Sabella took the ball from the left side of the goal and passed it up to Harloff on the far right post. She sent the ball flying into the netting for a 5-1 advantage.

“We knew that [Cold Spring Harbor] wanted to come out and crush us because last year they lost to us in triple overtime,” Harloff said. “So we knew we had to come out stronger and have that intensity to beat them.”

Sabella added a free position goal to extend the lead to 6-2, but Cold Spring Harbor was able to pull apart the defense just for a brief moment to draw within 6-3 after a good goal.

“We game-planned pretty well — on defense we knew their personnel and we knew who we had to stay strong on at all times,” Sabella said. “Throughout this season we’ve been known as a ‘second-half team,’ so we knew in order to win we’d have to pick it up in the first half and keep that momentum throughout.”

Shea added to the offensive onslaught when she pressed against the defense and sent a buzzer-beating shot rocketing into the cage to end the half.

“We knew we had to give 100 percent the entire time because we knew they weren’t going to give us any let-ups,” she said. “We had to go full throttle.”

The second half started slower, and Mount Sinai found itself plagued with yellow cards, being down a player for two minutes at a time on several occasions through the 25 minutes. Cold Spring Harbor scored two goals but calm is contagious, according to Bertolone.

“We were poised and we pulled it out,” he said.

The Mount Sinai team had graduated a significant amount of talent following last year, and had its fair share of doubters heading into this season.

“No one thought we could do it, but we thought we could,” Harloff said. “We believed in ourselves. No one thought we would get here and it feels great to prove them all wrong.”

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Mustangs drop game to Wantagh, 3-1, after winning program's first county title

The Mount Sinai baseball team huddle outside the dugout. The Mustangs fell to Wantagh, 3-1, in the Long Island championship game. Photo by Alex Petroski

Pitching and defense were the keys to the Long Island Class A baseball championship game Saturday. In the end, Wantagh had just enough of each, and Mount Sinai was left to wonder what might have been.

The Warriors defeated the Mustangs 3-1 behind a complete game, one hit, zero earned run pitching performance by senior Bobby Hegarty at the Police Athletic League Complex in Holtsville. Hegarty got the best of Mount Sinai senior Sam Kessler on the mound. Kessler also went seven innings; scattering five hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Mount Sinai senior starting pitcher Sam Kessler hurls the ball off the mound. Photo by Alex Petroski
Mount Sinai senior starting pitcher Sam Kessler hurls the ball off the mound. Photo by Alex Petroski

“He’s been tremendous all year long,” Mount Sinai head Coach Eric Reichenbach said of his pitcher after the loss Saturday. Kessler pitched the Mustangs to the championship game with seven innings of two-hit ball to close out a two-game sweep of Rocky Point in the Suffolk County Class A championship series on May 26.

“It’s another game where basically he dominated,” Reichenbach said. “He didn’t give up an earned run. We didn’t play stellar defense behind him, and that’s kind of been our bread and butter all year long — pitching and defense.”

The fact that the Mustangs’ “bread and butter” failed them will probably make Saturday’s result a little tougher to swallow. The Warriors scored the first run of the game in the third inning after an error and two singles loaded the bases with one out for senior designated hitter Will O’Brien.

O’Brien hit a shot to deep left field, which was run down by Mount Sinai outfielder Paul Gomes. The eighth-grader made an outstanding running catch, slamming into the fence for the second out. O’Brien was credited with a sacrifice fly. After a stolen base, sophomore Anthony Fontana singled to right field to put Wantagh up 2-0. Both runs were unearned.

“I thought I didn’t have my best breaking ball early in the game,” Kessler said after the game. “I think that’s where I got in trouble in that third inning a little bit. I made the adjustments, but it was just one of those days. Not much you can say — they played good and came out here and beat us today.”

Kessler settled down and retired 12 of the next 13 Warriors hitters. Mount Sinai answered the Wantagh rally in the bottom of the third, getting men on base via an error and a single. With one out and men on first and second, Wantagh failed to turn a double play and an errant throw by Wantagh second basemen Mike Derham allowed the Mustangs to cut the lead in half. Hegarty didn’t allow another base runner after the third. He retired the final 12 Mustangs he faced to secure the Long Island championship.

Mount Sinai’s Sam Kessler takes a strike from Wantagh’s Bobby Hegarty. Photo by Alex Petroski
Mount Sinai’s Sam Kessler takes a strike from Wantagh’s Bobby Hegarty. Photo by Alex Petroski

“Hats off to the other team, and to Hegarty,” Reichenbach said. “He threw a nice game. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap.”

Wantagh scored their third run on Mount Sinai’s third error of the game in the seventh inning.

The Mustangs captured their first-ever Suffolk County Class A championship title this season, though, so Saturday’s disappointing result didn’t stop Mount Sinai from reflecting on a special season.

“It’s hard now because the game just ended, but it’s still a tremendous accomplishment by the school and these kids,” the head coach said. “We’ve never won a Suffolk County championship before. We got one this year and it’s just unfortunate we won’t be going any further.”

Kessler will head to West Virginia University to pitch in the Big 12 Conference in the fall.

“It’s a great season all around,” Kessler said. “We took this team farther then we’ve ever been before. It’s a shame things ended the way it did. There’s a great group of guys here and they’ll be back next year.”

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After back-to-back Suffolk County titles, Mustangs fall to Clarke, 7-1, to end season

The Mount Sinai softball team fell to Clarke, 7-1, in the Long Island championship on June 3 at Hofstra University. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

One year ago, the Mount Sinai softball team reached a new milestone, achieving a level of success the likes of which the Mustangs had never seen.

“This is the best softball team Mount Sinai has ever had,” head coach Tom Tilton said. “They won the conference, they won the league and they won the county championship — something that has never been done before.”

Sabrina Burrus reaches out to grab the ball behind the plate. Photo by Bill Landon
Sabrina Burrus reaches out to grab the ball behind the plate. Photo by Bill Landon

Looking to repeat last year’s success, the Mount Sinai softball team went undefeated in its conference for a second year in a row, finishing atop League VI with a 12-0 record, which earned the team the top seed in the Class A bracket.

After a first-round bye, the Mustangs picked off No. 4 Hampton Bays and took down No. 3 Islip, the only team that had beaten them in a nonleague contest earlier in the season, sending them to the loser bracket, only to play the Buccaneers again in the semifinal round. In back-to-back games, Mount Sinai beat Islip for the school’s second consecutive county title.

A year ago, it had never been done before. And this season, they did it again.

Mount Sinai’s roadblock last year was the Long Island championship, and this year it would be no different. The Mustangs faced Clarke at Hofstra University Friday afternoon, and fell 7-1 to end a remarkable season.

Mount Sinai fell behind 2-0 after one inning of play, and the Mustangs struggled to find a rhythm, making a pitching change in just the bottom of the second inning. Eighth-grader Kelsey Carr took over on the mound after Clarke loaded the bases, with the Mustangs trailing by three runs. It was an error-riddled inning, and Clarke capitalized on each mistake, scoring four unearned runs to jump out to a 6-0 lead.

Hailey La Giudice throws from third. Photo by Bill Landon
Hailey La Giudice throws from third. Photo by Bill Landon

The Mount Sinai bats were quiet over the next two innings, but would get the goose egg off the scoreboard in the top of the fifth.

With runners at first and second, senior third baseman and catcher Sabrina Burrus smacked a sacrifice fly to advance the runner at second to third. Sophomore catcher and third baseman Hailey La Giudice stepped into the batter’s box and battled the pitcher as the count grew full, and ripped the ball through the gap to right field, plating Carr.

With runners on first and second, sophomore Emma Wimmer drew a walk to load the bases, but the opportunity was squandered as the Mustangs went down swinging to end the inning. From there, the Mustangs bats went silent. The team was unable to mount another rally from there.

“We prepared to hit the faster pitching because we know what she brings,” Tilton said of Clarke’s pitcher. “There’s no two ways about it, but I didn’t anticipate making six errors in the first two innings. Today we were very nervous and we haven’t shown that all year. Today that killed us. You can’t give up five unearned runs to a pitcher like that and expect to win.”

Losing only two seniors to graduation, Tilton said he is optimistic about next season.

“We’re a very young team,” he said. “We’ll be back next year.”

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