Miller Place junior Timothy Hirdt scores against Sayville Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior Thomas Nealis keeps the ball in play Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Thomas Cirrito elbows his way to the rim Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Thomas Cirrito flies between two Sayville defenders Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Thomas Cirrito scores 2 of his 12 points Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Timothy Hirdt scores on a reverse layup Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Thomas Cirrito scores 2 of his 12 points Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior Thomas Nealis powers his way to the rim Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior Thomas Nealis spends some quality time at the rim Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place senior Thomas Nealis scores 2 of his team high 18 points Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Timothy Hirdt scores 2 of his 12 points Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Justin Leichter with the no look pass Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Matt Frank drains a 3 pointer Feb 1. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place junior Timothy Hirdt scores 2 of his 12 points Feb. 1. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
The Miller Place Panthers boys basketball team scored first and never looked back, out-distancing visiting Sayville 59-52 Feb. 1. Senior forward Thomas Nealis led the way for the Panthers, topping the scoring chart with eight field goals and a pair of free throws for a total 18 points along with 16 rebounds and five assists. Junior Thomas Cirrito followed with three from the line and six 2-pointers for a total of 15 while junior Timothy Hirdt came up from behind banking 12.
With the win Miller Place improves to 12-2 in League V and 15-3 overall with one games remaining before postseason play begins. The Panthers retook the court Feb. 4 against Westhampton, which they won 71-50. The team is back home Feb. 7 where they’ll host Mount Sinai for their Senior Recognition Game. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m.
Shoreham-Wading River’s Tom Bell shoots scoring two of his eight points Jan. 5. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River’s Tristan Costello scores topping the charts for the Wildcats with 9 points Jan. 5. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River’s Matt Cook shoots from the paint in a league V match up visiting Sayville. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River’s Tristan Costello drives to the basket for 2 of his 9 points against visiting Sayville. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River’s Tom Bell drives the baseline in a league V match up Jan. 5 . Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River’s Tristan Costello drives to the rim scoring 2 of his team high 9 points Jan. 5 against visiting Sayville. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
After a disastrous first half for Shoreham-Wading River’s boys basketball team netting only 7 points before the break, the Wildcats came out shooting in the third quarter out scoring Sayville 20-14 over the final 16 minutes of play; but it was too little too late. The Wildcats fell to visiting Sayville 32-27 in a League V contest Jan. 5. Tristan Costello banked 4 field goals and a free throw to lead his team in scoring with 9, followed by Tom Bell’s 4 swishes from the free throw line and a pair of field goals for 8 points. The loss drops the Wildcats to 1-4 in the league, 4-5 overall. The team was back in action Jan. 8 where they traveled to Westhampton, but the Wildcats lost 58-60.
A Suffolk County Police Department boat. File photo by Alex Petroski
A Mount Sinai woman died after falling overboard in the Great South Bay Aug. 4, according to Suffolk County Police Department.
Donna Ramirez, 38, of Mount Sinai, went overboard from a 2005 Monterey 30-foot-boat about half a mile south of Green Creek Marina in Sayville at approximately 12:45 a.m. Saturday morning, police said. The owner of the boat Robert Udle, 37, of Lake Grove got assistance from two other people, looked for Ramirez, located her, brought her onto the boat and called 911.
Ramirez was transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where she was pronounced dead, with drowning cited as the cause of death.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Homicide Squad detectives at 631-852-6392.
Redeems last season’s one-hole playoff loss for runner-up status
Port Jefferson's Shane DeVincenzo bested his last season runner-up record by placing first in the Suffolk County championship Nov. 4. Photo from Port Jefferson athletics
By Jim Ferchland
For Shane DeVincezo, the mental game of golf has always been his focus. The Port Jefferson junior came into the Nov. 3 Suffolk County championship hoping to place in the Top 9, as is his goal every season, and after finishing with a 69, 2-under par, on the first day of the tournament Nov. 2, he knew he was in a good place to keep pushing toward his target position.
“I thought, if I try to go out there and win, the Top 9 will just automatically happen,” he said. “If I try to go for Top 9 and just worry about that and not push for the lead, I think I’ve got a good chance. I thought, with the position I’m in right now, there’s no doubt I can make states.”
With his first place Suffolk County finish, Port Jefferson golfer Shane DeVincenzo qualified to compete in the state tournament. Photo by Jim Ferchland
DeVincenzo followed up his day one performance with an even-par 71 Friday to capture the county title with a 36-hole total of 140, good for 2-under-par at Manorville’s Rock Hill Golf and Country Club.
The Port Jefferson golfer avenged his second-place finish from last year’s tournament in capturing the top spot. In 2016 he lost to East Hampton’s Turner Foster on a one-hole playoff. Foster finished tied for second in Suffolk Nov. 3.
Port Jefferson head coach Chuck Ruoff said he is proud of what his athlete has accomplished.
“He wasn’t going to let last year define him,” Ruoff said. “I know that in his heart last year gave him a lot of motivation. For two days he just went out and played his best.”
DeVincenzo overcame a rocky front nine in the first round by his standards, shooting one over to start his tournament. He rallied after that and finished three under on the back nine for the best score of the day.
“I felt I did really good,” DeVincenzo said on his performance on that back nine. “I wouldn’t say it was really a bad front nine — the front nine is a lot harder here and you just gotta get through it. On the back nine, my putter got rolling and I made a lot of good putts which saved me. Three under par is pretty good.”
He said there was something familiar about the Manorville course that he thought gave him an advantage.
“These greens are kind of like Port Jeff,” DeVincenzo said. “They’re just a little more sloped, but distance-wise and yardage-wise, they’re practically the same. Playing at Port Jeff definitely helps playing at Rock Hill.”
Port Jefferson junior Shane DeVincenzo swings away during the first of the two-day Suffolk County championship tournament. Photo by Jim Ferchland
Ruoff has been by DeVincenzo’s side since he starting golding in eighth grade, and said he’s in awe of the 16-year-old’s abilities.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Ruoff said of DeVincenzo’s talent. “He picked up the game somewhat late for someone who’s got to this ability level. Just between how hard he works and the instruction he’s given, it’s just really hard to explain. Year to year he’s made huge jumps in his game.”
Although DeVincenzo also trains at Port Jefferson Country Club under head professional Bill Mackedon, he said he looks at Ruoff like his best friend, adding that his coach makes the game a lot easier.
“We bond very well — I really like him as a coach,” he said. “Ever since I started in eighth grade, he’s been there as a supporter. Even when I’m struggling he’s there to help me. I have him to back me up and he helps me boost up my confidence.”
DeVincenzo golfed in a foursome Nov. 3 along with Pierson’s Henry Brooks, Eastport-South Manor’s Andrea Ternavasio and Sayville’s Sean Haselton. DeVincenzo has played with his Sayville opponent before.
“Me and Shane have been playing together for a long time,” Haselton said. “He got hot with the putter today and that’s what did it for him. I feel we feed off each other — he makes a good putt, then I make a good putt. We both played really solid. It’s fun to play with people playing well.”
Haselton finished the first day with a 73, one over par, and ended day two tied for second with
Foster and Habrorfields’ Pat Healy. In the team competition, he helped Sayville win its first county title since 2013 with an 813, ahead of Harborfields (826) and Smithtown West (831).
Port Jefferson’s Shane DeVincenzo eyes his target. Photo by Jim Ferchland
DeVincenzo, the second-place trio, Huntington’s Tyler Gerbavsits (148), Sayville’s Brendan Smith (152) and Smithtown West’s John Pawlowski (153) all qualified to compete in the state tournament, along with Connetquot’s Kyle Zere and Huntington’s Matt Giamo, who finished tied for eighth at 154. They earned the final two spots by besting Harborfields’ Andre Chi in a one-hole playoff.
Pierson’s Brooks also said he enjoyed playing alongside top competitors, saying he was fascinated seeing DeVincenzo play for the first time.
“He played great today,” Brooks said of DeVincenzo. “He was hitting every drive straight — drilling long putts. He was really dialed in.”
Even before DeVincenzo’s performance at Rock Hill, Ruoff said his athlete is the greatest player he’s ever coached.
“Without a doubt in my mind he is,” Ruoff said. “There have been some great players that we’ve had the privilege of seeing at Ward Melville, who is our closest competitor, through the years. As far as Port Jeff goes, he’s been the best player I’ve been around by far.”
Ruoff said he sees DeVincenzo finishing Top 5 in the state.
“I feel that anything can happen on a given day in a round of golf, but he’s certainly right at the top,” Ruoff said of DeVincenzo. “Every year he has slightly exceeded his high expectations, and I have high expectations for him. He just blessed with a lot of talent.”
Suffolk County Police Seventh Squad detectives are investigating a crash that seriously injured a motorcyclist and his passenger in Rocky Point May 12.
Thomas Lowth and his passenger, Sherry Hansen, were traveling eastbound on Main Street when he collided his 2000 American Eagle motorcycle with a 2002 Hyundai being driven by Andrew Netusil at approximately 5:20 p.m. Netusil was pulling out of a parking lot on Main Street.
Lowth, 49, of Sayville, and Hansen, 45, of Rocky Point, were both transported to Stony Brook University Hospital in serious condition. Netusil, 20, of Miller Place, stayed at the scene and was not injured.
The vehicles were impounded for a safety check. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact the Seventh Squad at 631-852-8752.
Nora Gabel scores two points on a putback. Photo by Desirée Keegan
The Comsewogue girls’ basketball team dropped its second-to-last game of the season to Sayville Feb. 7, 51-44, on senior night, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort from the Warriors.
Sam Collins prepares to take a shot from beyond the arc. Photo by Desirée Keegan
“I think we came out really strong, got them a little nervous — on their heels a little bit,” senior Sam Collins said.
That’s because she was swishing shot after shot from beyond the arc. Collins scored all nine of her team’s first-quarter points on 3-pointers, and added another at the start of the second.
“I work so hard on it and when I get an open shot I’m happy to take it,” she said. “It helps my teammates and it’s hard to contest a shot like that.”
Her coach likes what he’s seen from his four-year starter as well. Collins has racked up 43 3-pointers this season.
“She makes a living out there,” Comsewogue head coach Joe Caltagirone said. “She can post up too, but with the 1-3-1 defense that [Sayville plays] it was suited for her to stay out on the wing and take the open shots when she had them.”
The game, which was Comsewogue’s first home loss of the season, was tight through most of the first half. Collins’ fourth trey countered a Sayville 3-pointer, and junior Nora Gabel scored a field goal that put her team out front 14-11, but Sayville always had an answer, or two, and by the end of the first half Sayville had a 24-18 advantage.
Sayville’s defense intercepted multiple passes and won its fair share of battles on the boards, but junior Hannah Dorney grabbed multiple rebounds for Comsewogue, and forced a few turnovers herself.
Hannah Dorney carries the ball into Sayville’s zone after forcing a turnover. Photo by Desirée Keegan
“We softened their defense, we broke it down pretty good and got some good looks, but our shots didn’t fall,” Caltagirone said. “Hannah has been a great addition off the lacrosse team. We had to play their style with the aggressiveness and working baseline to baseline, which she helped with. I was pleased with their effort.”
Heading into the halftime break, Collins said her team talked about ways to make sure the game didn’t slip away.
“We wanted to move the ball a lot more to make them move because they’re eventually going to get tired,” she said. “If we take the first available shot, it’s easy for them to play defense, but if we wait the whole shot clock and get the best shot possible, they can’t do anything about it.”
At first, it worked. Senior Megan Turner drew a foul and sank both of her free throws, Gabel added a 3-pointer and Dorney scored a field goal to regain the lead for Comsewogue, 25-24. Despite the team’s best efforts, Sayville always had a response. Gabel and junior Georgia Alexiou added four points each in the third, but the Warriors fell behind 45-41. and that was the closest they would get.
“As the game progressed we lost it a little bit, then we came back, but there wasn’t enough time on the clock,” Collins said. “We communicate well, we didn’t give them easy baskets, we made them work for it, and we moved the ball.”
Sofia Colocho drives to the basket. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Caltagirone honored Collins, Turner, Brittany DeLeva, Lauren Gray and Christiany Pizarro before the game as part of the senior night festivities.
“It’s bittersweet — I’ll miss them,” the head coach said. “Some are three- and four-year players I’ve been coaching for a while and they mean a lot to the program. I’m happy for them, but I’m sad to lose them.”
Collins was also emotional.
“I never thought this day would come,” she said. “I wish we could’ve gotten the win, but I know we played our best, and that’s enough for me.”
She said despite the loss the energy is high heading into the postseason, and Caltagirone said he believes in the squad’s ability, noting how this season compared to last. The Warriors are winning the close games and aren’t letting teams back into games, something he said is big for the team.
“They do the hard work,” he said. “I’m pretty confident that we can play with anybody. We’ve shown we can play with anybody.”
Michael Brewer lunges into the end zone for a 2-point conversion. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
Rocky Point hadn’t lost a game since Oct. 1, when the Eagles suffered their second loss of the season, a 42-14 defeat, at the hands of Sayville. No. 4-seeded Rocky Point found itself back up against that same team in the Division III semifinals Nov. 12, and still struggled against the No. 1 Golden Flashes, falling 42-8.
“It’s not about one game — it’s about the year, and we have a lot to be proud of,” Rocky Point head coach Anthony DiLorenzo said. “I feel like we’ve put Rocky Point back on the map.”
Petey LaSalla makes his way up the field. Photo by Bill Landon
The Eagles were on the move in the final minute of the first half, marching down the field during their first scoring threat. The team made it to Sayville’s 9-yard line, but the opposition’s defense denied Rocky Point, and took over on downs.
With just over six minutes left in the third quarter, Rocky Point was on the move again, making its way to the 4-yard line on 4th-and-goal. Again, the Eagles failed to find the end zone, and turned the ball over on downs. Sayville marched the opposite way during a sustained drive, helped in part by flying penalty flags on Rocky Point’s defense. Sayville punched into the end zone for its fourth touchdown with 4:13 left in the quarter, and after a successful point-after attempt kick, broke out to a 28-0 lead.
Carry after carry, Rocky Point running back Petey LaSalla ground and pounded the ball up the middle for most of what offense the Eagles could muster. As a result, the Sayville defense heavily targeted the junior.
On the opening drive in the final quarter, LaSalla — after several carries — punched into the end zone for the team’s only touchdown of the day. LaSalla lined up under center to attempt a 2-point conversion, and after a bad snap went over LaSalla’s head, he recovered the ball, slipped passed several would-be tacklers and threw the ball to senior running back Michael Brewer, who made the 15-yard catch and lunged over the goal line to bring the score to 28-8.
Despite the result, DiLorenzo was impressed with how his 7-3 team finished the season and its playoff push.
“I just thank the seniors for giving me their hearts,” he said. “I said to the kids as much as it hurts to lose 42-8 right now, we’re headed in the right direction.”
Mount Sinai senior Leon Paul improved his record to 24-2 with a 7-0 decision over his Sayville competitor on Jan. 22. The Mustangs outscored the Golden Flashes 62-15 in the final meet of the regular season, to improve to 6-1 in League VI. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
Mount Sinai senior Matt Eisenblaetter tries to escape a hold on his way to pinning his Sayville opponent at 170 pounds on Jan. 22. Photo by Bill Landon
The Mount Sinai wrestling team is locked in a three-way tie at the top of League VI after taking down Sayville 62-15 on the road on Jan. 22. As the curtain drew to a close in the final meet of the regular season, Miller Place and Elwood-John Glenn also won their final games, knotting all three teams at 6-1 going into Wednesday’s opening round of playoffs.
Mount Sinai came out fast winning four of the first five matches with standout pinning performances from five grapplers, including senior Matthew Eisenblaetter, who laid out his opponent at the 3:39 mark at 170 pounds, and sophomore Jake Croston, who put an end to his match in the first period at 220. There were also two major decisions, highlighted by eighth-grader Mike O’Brien won his matchup 11-2 at 106 pounds.
Mount Sinai head coach Matt Armstrong said his team has been able to hold its own despite having three eighth-graders and 11 ninth-graders on the roster.
“The younger kids wrestle in a lot of tournaments and I have an eighth-grader Matt Campo who’s an absolute hammer,” he said.
Mount Sinai eighth-grader Matt Campo, who is controlling his opponent, improved his record to 24-1 after pinning his Sayville competitor at 99 pounds on Jan. 22. Photo by Bill Landon
At 99 pounds, Campo dropped that hammer on his opponent with a pin early in the second period. Campo was an All-League wrestler last year as a seventh-grader, and with his win, the underclassmen, whom his coach said is the future of Mount Sinai wrestling, improved his record to 24-1.
Co-captain Shane Walker, a senior at 195 pounds, also ended his match by pinning his rival a minute into the second period for his 14th pin of the season, improving his record to 19-1. Classmate Keith Williams pinned his opponent at the 1:37 mark in the 120-pound weight class.
Two-time All-League player and senior co-captain Daniel Henry defeated his foe in a major decision, 11-3, and at 160 pounds, fellow senior Leon Paul took victory with a 7-0 decision in the 145-pound weight class. Mike Zarif, a sophomore, edged his challenger 5-2 at 126 pounds.
Mount Sinai senior Daniel Henry lifts up his 160-pound competitor during his 11-3 major decision on Jan. 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Paul, a two-time All-League wrestler who is now 24-2, said he was somewhat surprised in his matchup, because he expected more from his opponent.
“I was successful in my takedown,” said Paul, adding that he was happy with his overall performance.
Winning by forfeit was Leonel Paul, Leon’s twin brother, at 138 pounds, as did sophomore Robert Christ at 285.
“Sayville did well — they did better than I expected,” Leonel Paul said. “Our team did well, and our heads were in it tonight.”
Armstrong said that the Paul brothers are the hardest workers in the wrestling room, and have won three tournaments this year between them. Leonel Paul added that he’ll go running every day leading up to the start of the playoffs.
Mount Sinai eighth-grader Mike O’Brien maintains control of his opponent on his way to an 11-2 major decision at 106 pounds, against Sayville on Jan. 22. Photo by Bill Landon
Also winning by forfeit was Luke Marino, a senior at 182pounds, who talked about what his team will do to prepare for Wednesday’s postseason opener.
“Were just going to be practicing like we’ve done all year” Marino said. “This is a hard working team and I think this is the year that we can do it. We showed that by placing in the top three, which hasn’t been done in 10 years at Mount Sinai.”
Uerda Zena colors before her heart procedure last week. Photo from Debbie Engelhardt
A 4-year-old girl from Kosovo is recovering after a life-saving heart operation on Long Island, thanks to the work of local volunteers.
Mom Barbara Zena comforts Uerda as she recovers from her heart procedure. Photo from Debbie Engelhardt
It took a village to support Uerda Zena. Rotary groups throughout Suffolk lent a hand to the girl and her mother, Barbara, through the Gift of Life program, which works to provide such stateside heart procedures to children from around the globe. Uerda’s Nov. 4 surgery to repair a hole in her heart the size of a nickel was a milestone effort that celebrated the Rotary program’s 40th anniversary.
The atrial septal defect closure performed on Uerda at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn will add 60 or more years to the little girl’s life, Port Jefferson Rotary member Debbie Engelhardt explained, but the surgery was not available in her home nation.
Engelhardt, who is also the director of the Comsewogue Public Library, said more than 19,000 children from dozens of countries have received life-saving surgeries since the Gift of Life program was born in Suffolk County four decades ago and expanded through Rotary International.
The medical team that took care of Uerda Zena, including Dr. Levchuck second from right, surrounds mom Barbara Zena. Photo from Debbie Engelhardt
Rotary groups in the county are still going strong with Gift of Life, which is doubling up its efforts by providing doctors and medical staff in other countries with equipment and training to perform the heart procedures themselves.
“It’s a unique, renowned and respected Rotary-run program,” Engelhardt said.
Dr. Sean Levchuck, the pediatric cardiologist who performed the life-saving procedure on Uerda at St. Francis, described it as minimally invasive. To close the nickel-sized hole, he fed a catheter “the size of a coffee stirrer” into a vein in her leg and up to her heart, where the catheter deployed a device that, once placed in the hole, expanded to plug it. The cardiologist had to position the device properly while Uerda’s heart was still beating, mostly using ultrasound imaging to guide him.
Barbara Zena and daughter Uerda have fun at Chuck E. Cheese. Photo from Joe DeVincent
The doctor said the procedure took between 45 minutes to an hour and required a team of nurses, an anesthesiologist and techs to assist with the imaging. The hospital donated the use of its facility and staff for the procedure.
Levchuck does about 15 of those procedures a year for Gift of Life, he said, with a fair number of the child recipients coming from Eastern European countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. He also sees kids from places like Haiti and Jamaica.
Just like in those other nations, the procedure to repair a hole in a child’s heart is not available in Kosovo, Levchuck said, because the hospitals don’t have the resources to train their staffs to do it. And the kids who are born with those defects are more prone to pneumonia or respiratory infections, which could also be difficult to treat in a developing nation.
“Problems in this country that are seemingly innocent take a whole new look” in places like Kosovo, the doctor said. But he is willing to help: “Keep ‘em coming. … It’s easy to donate time.”
In Uerda’s case, plenty of Long Islanders donated their time, with many people pitching in to make the girl’s medical procedure a reality. Sayville Rotarian Joe DeVincent wrote letters to get the girl a visa, and she and her mother are staying with a host family in Northport while here. DeVincent has also provided transportation to the Kosovan mother and daughter.
Uerda Zena and mom Barbara are all smiles while in the U.S. to repair the girl’s heart defect Photo from Joe DeVincent
The endeavor to save Uerda had an additional element of kids helping other kids — students at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, one of whom is Levchuck’s son, raised funds to bring the girl to the United States from her home in the Kosovan capital, Pristina, where her mother works at a bakery and her father at a public works plant.
“They’re a fine group of students over there that championed a cause,” the doctor said about the St. Anthony’s kids. “When you see something like that, you really get a nice warm feeling about the future.”
Uerda will be staying stateside for a little while longer, and Rotarians are trying to show her a good time. She has already gone on a play date to Chuck E. Cheese and visited a children’s museum, DeVincent said, and this weekend she will go into New York City with her mother and some native Long Islanders to visit Times Square and Rockefeller Center.
“Uerda really enjoys being with her mother,” DeVincent said.
And she has more energy to do these things than before.
After a heart procedure, Uerda Zena is now healthier than ever. Photo from Joe DeVincent
“Her heart’s working better, her circulation’s better,” the Rotarian said. “The kid generally feels better than she has in her whole life. So this is a very happy story.”
Uerda will also appear at a Taste of Smithtown, an event in St. James on Nov. 17, where there will be food from restaurants along the North Shore. The 10th annual event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz of Smithtown on Middle Country Road and will benefit the Gift of Life program, along with the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry and the Smithtown Children’s Foundation.
The plan is for the Zenas to head home on Nov. 22, to be reunited with Uerda’s father and her 18-month-old brother.
“Her mother is in touch with her family in Europe through her cell phone and … Uerda has spoken to her brother over the cell phone,” DeVincent said. “She’s actually very maternal toward her younger brother.”
It is a happy ending for both the Kosovo family and Suffolk County Rotarians.
“When you’re doing something like this with an adorable 4-year-old child, it brings you tremendous satisfaction,” DeVincent said. “This is the best way to spread happiness, certainly for these children and their parents but also for yourself. Nothing that I do or have done in my life has brought me as much joy.”
Shoreham-Wading River’s Isabella Meli pulls back to fire a shot at the cage in the Wildcats’ 12-4 loss at Sayville Friday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
The Shoreham-Wading River girls’ lacrosse team couldn’t keep up with the Golden Flashes on Friday. Despite lighting up the scoreboard early, the Wildcats fell to Sayville, 12-4.
“I don’t really think they played with a lot of heart today,” Shoreham-Wading River head coach Rachel Feirstein said of her team. “They didn’t play the game that I know they can play.”
Sayville scored first but a minute later, Jesse Arline passed the ball to Sophia Triandafils, who tied the game. It didn’t last for long though — by the time another minute had passed, Sayville had edged ahead, 3-1.
Shoreham-Wading River’s Jesse Arline pulls the ball out and away from the crease to try to get an open look at the net in the Wildcats’ 12-4 loss at Sayville Friday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Shortly afterward, following a foul call, Shoreham eighth-grader Isabella Meli, a midfielder and attack, fired a shot straight up the middle from 10 yards out to pull her team within one.
“I think today wasn’t one of our best games but I think we did good on draw controls,” she said. “I think we need to have a more positive attitude while we’re playing — and less turnovers.”
Sayville then scored four straight goals, but it would have been more without Shoreham senior goalkeeper and captain Lauren Daly, who made three big saves to minimize the damage.
The half ended with the Wildcats down 7-2.
“I think we had some moments of greatness, but I think there were times where we could have won a few more 50/50 balls and taken some better shots,” Daly said. “Sayville is a great team. They have some really good players and some really good ball movement, so I think defensively we communicated well with each other.”
At the start of the second half, Shoreham patiently maintained possession of the ball for more than five straight minutes and finally found the back of the net, to bring the score to 7-3.
After another Daly save, Sayville hammered one in net and forced Shoreham to call a timeout. Daly came out of the huddle to make another save, but Sayville squeezed another ball past her to jump out to a 9-3 lead.
“I walk into every game with the same attitude, and every single game I just try to play my best,” Daly said.
After winning the draw, Shoreham-Wading River’s Samantha Higgins maintains possession of the ball as she makes her way into Sayville’s zone with a defender on her hip, in the Wildcats’ 12-4 loss at Sayville Friday. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Sayville’s defense continued to pressure, forcing Shoreham outside the crease. Even there, the Wildcats couldn’t find the open looks.
Sayville scored another time before Shoreham scored its final goal of the game.
Samantha Higgins, who won possession off of several draws for the Wildcats, swiped the ball out of the air, took it all the way down the field and passed to Meli in front of the net, who whipped it in for the score.
Daly made her final of nine saves on the day, and Sayville scored twice more to end the game at 12-4.
Feirstein does not believe the game and its result are indicative of the way her team can play.
“I think the negative outweighed the bright spots, but there were some — we had an eighth-grader who scored two goals,” she said of Meli. “I have a lot of confidence in my team; they just need to show it. They need to work together as a team, and they practice it all week long — they just need to put it together in a 50-minute game.”
Daly said to end the regular season strong, the team will need to work on winning more ground balls and capitalizing on turnovers, which the girls hope to do Monday, when they travel to Miller Place at 4 p.m.
“We have some really great players and we’re a young team, but I think we’re a confident team,” she said. ”I think when we play confident and when we play our best, we’re a threat.”
