By Bill Landon
The Ward Melville girls golf team had a strong showing on the links at Heatherwood Golf Club in South Setauket against the Wildcats of Shoreham-Wading River as the Patriots won the League IV match play, 9-0, April 29.
The Wildcat golf program, formed just three years ago, struggles to find its first match win of the season after six rounds. The Patriots were 2-9 in the league May 1.
The No. 17 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team gave its eight seniors something to celebrate about, topping Binghamton at LaValle Stadium, 20-4, on Friday night on Senior Day. The victory marked the team’s seventh in a row and moves the Seawolves to 6-0 in America East play.
“Senior Day is an emotional day so there’s a lot of moving parts with the lineup being different and honoring your seniors and the seniors coming to the reality that it’s the last home game of the regular season and that they don’t have too much time left as far as being a college athlete,” said head coach Joe Spallina.
“We always try to funnel the emotion. I loved the way we responded to the emotion of Senior Day. We came out and were very business-like and we continued the momentum that we’ve had during our winning streak,” he added.
Stony Brook headed into the locker room with a 15-1 lead and didn’t look back en route to the 16-goal victory. Taryn Ohlmiller (Islip) led the offensive attack with seven points from four goals and three assists. Ally Kennedy (North Babylon) was once again big on the offensive attack, recording all of her five goals in the first half as well as an assist.
Kasey Mitchell (Port Jefferson Station) was a standout on her special day, recording a career-high five points from a hat trick and two helpers. All three of her scores came from the free position.
Nicole Bifulco (Huntington) also had a Senior Day to remember, scoring on both shots she took to earn a pair of goals. Keri McCarthy (Hauppauge) also got in on the scoring with her fellow seniors, putting in a highlight-worthy behind-the-back shot in the first half.
Goals also came from Siobhan Rafferty (Long Beach) (2), Rayna Sabella (Mount Sinai), Sarah Pulis (Baldwin) and Nicole Rizzo (Syosset). Goalkeeper Anna Tesoriero (Huntington) got the win in net after recording two saves. Gabrielle Cacciola (Wading River) made a save in the second half.
Kennedy has scored in all 15 games this season and Rafferty has notched at least one point in each contest. Ohlmiller has now moved up to No. 4 in program history in career points (252) and Kennedy is eighth with 189. Mackenzie Burns (West Sayville) led the team in ground balls (4) and also had five draw controls along with McCarthy and Kennedy.
Stony Brook is 16-1 all-time against Binghamton, winning its last nine matchups. The team was Penn State bound, meeting with the Nittany Lions on Tuesday. Results were not available as of press time.
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By Bill Landon
Sophie Alois led the way for Middle Country finding the back of the cage eight times in a nonleague matchup on the road defeating Hauppauge, 15-10, April 22.
Eighth-grader Kate Timarky stretched the net for five goals along with two assists, and teammates Jennifer Barry, who is Boston University bound, and Sydney Juvelier, who will play for Pace University, each scored a goal.
As of April 24, the Mad Dogs were 8-1 overall just behind Northport who sits at the top of Division I.
By Bill Landon
Miller Place’s softball team was down in runs for most of the game at Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats April 22, but the team rallied in the top of the seventh,scoring four unanswered runs to tie the game against SWR at 11-11 to force extra innings.
It was Wildcats freshman Lindsay Cahill’s bat that decided the game in the bottom of the ninth, driving home senior Katlynn McGivney to win the game, 12-11, in a League V matchup against their crosstown rival.
Sophomore pitcher Genna Baudo was credited with the win as the Wildcats improve to 3-6 in league. The loss drops the Panthers to 6-3 with seven games left to play before the postseason. The Wildcats will need to win four games out of their remaining schedule to extend their season.
The crosstown rivals will take on two of the South Fork teams April 25, with visiting Miller Place taking the field against East Hampton for a 10 a.m. start. The Wildcats will host Westhampton with first pitch also at 10 a.m.
Kings Park boys lacrosse team was able to stay within striking distance with Mount Sinai through two quarters of play April 12, but the Mustangs exploded in the third quarter, scoring eight goals to put the game out of reach. Mount Sinai defeated the Kingsmen 14-5 at home to remain unbeaten at this midpoint of the season at 8-0 in division, 10-0 overall for second place behind Shoreham-Wading River.
Joey Spallina, the spark of the Mustang offense, split the pipes five times. Meanwhile Bobby Demeo found the back of the cage thrice and Brandon Ventarola and Russel Maher stuck it out with two goals apiece.
Vince D’Alto led the way for the Kingsmen with two goals while Alex Wenzler along with Jack Quaranto both scored as well. Kings Park keeper Christian Michaels had a busy day between the pipes grabbing 19 saves on the day.
Both teams were back in action April 16 where the Mustangs hosted Islip and the Kingsmen hit the road against Babylon. Mount Sinai will be taking the road to Sayville April 23 while Kings Park is hosting Kellenberg April 24. Game times are for 4 p.m. and 10 a.m. respectively.
The Ward Melville baseball team let its bats do the talking in a League I matchup against the Central Islip Musketeers where the Patriots cruised to a 12-2 victory April 15.
The Patriots scored two runs in the opening inning, four in the second and two more in the third before plating four more in the fourth to put the game away.
Third baseman Brady Doran was 2-2 at the plate with a pair of doubles and scored three times. Second baseman Matt Maurer was 2-4 and batted in four. Pitcher Chris Vivenzio got the win fanning 10 batters, allowing one hit.
The win, the first of a three-game series against the Musketeers, put the Patriots as of April 15 at 3-1 in the division and 5-1 overall for second place behind Patchogue-Medford. On April 16 the Patriots won 11-0 against Central Islip.
Comsewogue’s girls softball team stayed within striking distance through six innings of play, trailing West Islip by one run through the first five. But the Lions’ bats came alive in the top of the 7th, scoring four unanswered runs to put the game away 8-2. The Warriors scored both of their runs in the bottom of the first but struggled offensively the rest of the way in a League III matchup at home April 16.
The loss drops the Warriors to 2-5 in the league and 2-6 overall at the midway point of the season, with ten games remaining before post-season play begins. Comsewogue is back in action April 23 when they’ll take their bats on the road to face Huntington at 11 a.m.
Horseback riding is a sport that requires full commitment, courage and a particular skill set, one based on mental fortitude and bravery to even get up on the horse.
For members of the Old Towne Equestrian’s middle school team, they can’t picture their lives without their horses. Now their collective passion, as well as their recent successes in tournaments throughout the season, has propelled them to the Interscholastic Equestrian Association National Finals taking place April 26-28 in Pennsylvania.
Myrna Treuting, head coach of the team, couldn’t be prouder of the girls.
“We’ve had a pretty strong team this year,” she said.
To get to nationals, individual and team performances throughout the season are crucial in getting the points necessary to qualify. First, if the team has enough points, it qualifies for regionals, and the top two teams then go to zone finals. The Old Towne team won the IEA Zone 2 Final March 16, securing a spot in nationals and bringing home a trophy back to the Old Towne Equestrian Center barn. Two members of the team: seventh-grader Maggie Graney of Garden City and eighth-grader Ali Treuting, Myrna’s daughter, also qualified individually to compete at nationals.
“This is the first time that the middle school team has [collectively] qualified for nationals,” the head coach said.
According to Treuting, the team is the top ranked middle school team in all of New York State.
Fellow coach Lauren Sobel said the journey has not been easy.
“They are very dedicated, hardworking and they show great sportsmanship,” she said. “Going to nationals is very exciting for us.”
Sobel said most of the girls have been riding at the barn their whole careers, and started at a very young age, some before they could
even walk.
In preparation for nationals, the coaches have made sure the riders are securing extra practice and are getting used to riding without stirrups.
In many of the competitions, riders draw the name of the horse they will ride out of a hat the morning of the event. It is a way of evening the playing field as many riders become comfortable riding with their own horses.
Treuting said it’s the luck of the draw sometimes, and it doesn’t come down to the horse but to the skill of the rider. She mentioned her team has experience riding many different horses and can easily adapt to a new steed.
“I think going to nationals is a great opportunity to advance and learn to ride different horses outside of your comfort zone,” seventh-grader Tess Hairston of Selden said.
Graney added the season has been pretty good, and it’s really cool to go back to nationals this year. The young girl had qualified individually for nationals last year as well.
The members of the team are close with one another, and though they don’t go to school together, they relish the time they spend with each other at the barn.
“It is exciting, you get to learn together and get to grow as friends,” Hairston said. It’s nice because we get to see each other more often and do things that we love.”
Treuting has owned the Old Towne Equestrian Center for close to 30 years and started a horseback riding team about 15 years ago, just around the time IEA was created. The organization’s mission is to introduce equestrian sports to students grades four through 12.
In addition to the middle school team, Treuting coaches a high school team and the Stony Brook University Equestrian Team as well.
“I think we can do quite well at nationals, we have a very good team,” she said. “We are so proud of them, they work hard and they deserve it.”
The Old Towne Equestrian Center is located at 471 Boyle Road in Selden.
By Bill Landon
The Harborfields Tornadoes’ girls lacrosse team had a difficult time against visiting Sayville April 9, losing the game 4-5.
The loss puts Harborfields at 3-4 in league and 4-5 overall. The Tornadoes will host West Islip April 17 with a game time set for 4 p.m.
By Bill Landon
The Northport boys baseball team had an explosive first inning, scoring seven runs against Centereach, but the Tigers bats fell silent for the next five innings, allowing the Cougars to chip away at the deficit. At the end of five, Centereach made it a one-run game, but Northport dropped the hammer in the bottom of the sixth, batting in six more runs to put the game away 13-6 April 11. The Tigers took the third game of the three-game series at home besting Centereach 2-1.
Northport junior Dan Deutsch went three for three at the plate scoring twice with a pair of RBIs.
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