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Tigers

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Northport's Olivia Carner dumps the ball into the cage over the Bay Shore goalkeeper’s stick. Photo by Desirée Keegan

These Tigers are showing their teeth.

The Northport girls’ lacrosse team capped off the regular season with a six-game winning streak, holding Bay Shore scoreless through the first half Tuesday and trampling the Marauders 13-4, to prove they’re not a team to take lightly in the playoffs.

“I thought they played with confidence,” Northport head coach Carol Rose said. “We played aggressive on defense, fairly patient on offense and we were able to execute some of these fast-break opportunities that we had and not have any letdown in the second half like we had in the past two games. Maintaining the momentum was good.”

Northport senior attack Gabbi Labuskes put the team’s first point on the board after a foul call, and from there the team kept the ball rolling, scoring four more unanswered goals — with Labuskes scoring the last one — to take a 5-0 lead into the halftime break.

Northport's Gabbi Labuskes moves the ball across the field past two Bay Shore players. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport’s Gabbi Labuskes moves the ball across the field past two Bay Shore players. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“I think a big part of our win was going to be who won the first draw of the game; who came out 100 percent,” Labuskes said. “Moving the ball up the field was probably our biggest help throughout the game because we were able to transition the ball with half-field passes really quick and get it over the defense’s head. I think that played a really big factor.”

The senior attack scored the opening goal of the second half after she bulled her way up the middle and lobbed the ball overhead for her hat trick goal.

Northport junior midfielder Natalie Langella was next to score, followed by eighth-grade midfielder Olivia Carner, who dumped the ball in top center over the goalkeeper’s stick for her second goal of the game.

“They felt good about themselves and I think that that was key, especially when we were losing draw controls” Rose said of her team’s ability to score. “I think we only won four out of 18 draws. That’s not so good. To be able to come out on top with a 13-4 win and lose all the draws is pretty amazing. It also shows a great defensive effort.”

Northport junior attack Courtney Orella whipped one past the keeper next, and with 11:36 left to play, Bay Shore finally put a point on the scoreboard to avoid the shutout.

Labuskes took over on the draw and helped her team win possession, and on the next scoring play, two of Northport’s youngest players connected for a goal. Carner dished the ball in front of the net to seventh-grade attack Danielle Pavinelli, who scored for a 10-1 advantage.

Bay Shore tacked on another goal when an opponent beat out Northport eighth-grade goalkeeper Claire Morris. Labuskes followed with her fourth goal of the game, after clashing with two Bay Shore defenders and shooting over a cluster of defenders while sliding into the turf, and Bay Shore scored again to bring the score to 11-3.

“I think the defense has come a long way,” Rose said of her team. “They’ve been experimenting with three or four different types of defenses and they’re finally comfortable with a couple of them.”

Labuskes scored her fifth goal of the game off an assist by senior midfielder and co-captain Victoria D’Amato. After a Bay Shore goal, Pavinelli tallied the final goal of the game on a bounce shot with 23 seconds left on the clock.

Heading into playoffs, Rose would like to see her team focus on winning more draws and limiting the turnovers, but she’s confident in her Tigers, who finished the regular season 12-4 overall with an 11-3 mark in Division I.

“We only had three loses in the regular season — they were close, and I think it’s anybody’s game,” Rose said of heading into the postseason. “Whoever plays with the most head, heart and hustle will come out on top.”

The No. 3-seeded Tigers will face off against the winner of Saturday’s No. 6 Ward Melville versus No. 11 Half Hollow Hills game at home on Tuesday, May 19. The opening draw is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Like her coach, Labuskes is sure her team has what it takes to make a run this postseason.

“It feels deserved,” Labuskes said of the win. “I think this team can do whatever we want it to do. I think we have the potential to go all the way if we want to put the work in and if we want it that bad.”

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Luis Antonio Fernandez leads the pack for Middle Country. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

With twice the number of athletes, Northport’s boys’ track and field team dominated the League II meet on its home track Tuesday to win the meet 105-20.

Sam Augustin leaps over the hurdle for Northport. Photo by Bill Landon
Sam Augustin leaps over the hurdle for Northport. Photo by Bill Landon

Middle Country head coach George Royce said that most of the districts’ athletes come from Newfield, so a venue change earlier in the year adversely affected his team.

“At the very beginning of the season the athletic director moved us to Centereach, so a lot of our athletes [from Newfield] just didn’t come out for the team,” Royce said. “The Newfield kids didn’t want to take the bus over, and we lost quite a few good athletes, so we’re really short.”

Short or not, finishing fifth for Middle Country in the 3,200-meter run was sophomore Luis Antonio Fernandez, a second-year varsity runner who had never competed in the event before.

“We only had one kid in it and I already ran the 1,600 and I wasn’t feeling that good for the 800,” Fernandez said. “So I wanted to wait a little bit so I could recover.”

Northport freshman Isaih Claiborne was at the head of the pack for the 3,200, and stayed with the leader, making big kicks down the final 200-meter stretch to cross the finish line at 11 minutes, 36.3 seconds.

Crossing the finish line first in the 1,600 was a tie between Northport senior Michael Cossaro and junior Sam Napoli, who both finished in 4:59.03.

Northport head coach Bob Burkley said his team’s victory was due to the number of competitors his team fielded this day. Burkley has been coaching for years and also noted that he coached Middle Country’s head coach back in 1974.

“The team aspect is what won it for us,” Burkley said. “It was a team effort because they ran in groups, and that was the key.”

Denzel Williams competes in the long jump for Middle Country. Photo by Bill Landon
Denzel Williams competes in the long jump for Middle Country. Photo by Bill Landon

Middle Country standout Denzel Williams, a junior, is a premier sprinter and one of the fastest kids in League II, according to his coach. While he believes Chris Weiner is the best pole-vaulter in the league.

Williams, who won the 100 in 11.6,  said that the running conditions weren’t the best, as he ran slower than his personal best of 11.2.

“The wind affected me — it was a long bus ride here and I didn’t get a good warm up,” said Williams, who specializes in the 100, 200 and long jump events.

With the win, Northport improved to 2-1, while Middle Country dropped to 0-3.

Despite the strong athletes Royce has, the coach said his team has a tough time filling the roster to compete against the bigger teams.

“We’re very young, with only one senior and we have talent, but we’re small and have trouble competing against these larger schools,” he said.

Middle Country will host Sachem North on Tuesday at 4 p.m., and Northport will travel to Connetquot Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

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Northport's Heather Engellis shoots the ball past North Babylon's goalkeeper in the Tigers' 11-5 win Monday at Veteran's Park. Photo by Desirée Keegan

It’s going to be tough to stop these Tigers.

The Northport girls’ lacrosse team is on a three-game winning streak after topping previously undefeated North Babylon, 11-5, Monday at Veteran’s Park in East Northport.

The Tigers came out with seven straight goals and big saves from senior goalkeeper and co-captain Kristen Brunoforte, keeping North Babylon at bay, until the team scored its first goal of the game with 16 seconds remaining in the first half.

Northport's Olivia Carner beats out two defenders and bounces the ball into the net in the Tigers' 11-5 win Monday at Veteran's Park. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport’s Olivia Carner beats out two defenders and bounces the ball into the net in the Tigers’ 11-5 win Monday at Veteran’s Park. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“We’re excited about the win,” Northport head coach Carol Rose said. “Any time you beat someone in your conference it’s a good thing, so we’re happy about that. We started off and executed really well in the beginning of the game, but the second half we got really sloppy, a lot of turnovers and I wasn’t happy with that.”

Rose said her team lost focus of what they were trying to achieve and setting up the offense, as Northport turned over the ball four times in a row to start the second half.

“I think we fell behind a little bit but we always pick it up at the end of the game,” said junior attack Courtney Orella, who scored a hat trick in the game. “We have good balance, we go to goal and I knew we were going to win because we always pull through at the end.”

With 13:28 left to play, Brunoforte made one of her 18 saves on the morning, but after a foul call, was unable to make the stop as North Babylon edged closer, 7-3.

Northport eighth-grade midfielder Olivia Carner beat out defenders to the left side of the net and scored in front at 9:03 to make it a 8-3 game before North Babylon answered back less than a minute later.

But Orella knew the game was the Tigers’ to win.

“We need to work on not getting rattled,” she said. “As soon as they start to come back, I think we all sort of fall to their level. I think we need to realize how good we actually are and pick it back up, because we’re such a great team.”

Northport's Natalie Leangella moves the ball into North Babylon's zone in the Tigers' 11-5 win Monday at Veteran's Park. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Northport’s Natalie Leangella moves the ball into North Babylon’s zone in the Tigers’ 11-5 win Monday at Veteran’s Park. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Orella scored her second and hat trick goals back-to-back at 5:24 and 4:08, and seventh-grade attack Danielle Pavinelli passed to junior midfielder Natalie Langella off a foul for an 11-4 advantage before North Babylon scored the final goal of the game to bring the final score to 11-5, with a minute left to play.

Behind Orella, senior attacks and co-captains Emily Yoo and Heather Engellis netted two goals apiece, while senior attack and co-captain Gabbi Labuskes tacked on a goal and an assist. With the win, Northport improved to 3-0 in Division I, while North Babylon dropped to 3-1.

“I think our defense was strong,” Engellis said. “Our goalkeeping was insane; our transition was good.”

The team agreed it needs to work on its shooting, because despite scoring 11 goals, the team was 7-for-18 on attempts in the first half alone.

But Rose does like the strengths she sees.

“I thought in the beginning of the game is where they showed their strength,” she said. “They were passing and they were running the offense on their own, calling their own plays, so they executed really well in the beginning of the game. They’re fully capable of going that the entire game, but we’re still working on that.”

As long as the team can improve it’s shooting percentage and play a full game, Rose believes the sky is the limit for her team. The team traveled to Florida today for some bonding and practice over the break, with the hopes of returning even stronger on the quest to achieve its goal.

“The weather’s been really cold so it’s hard to work on anything, so we’re looking forward to going to Florida,” she said. “The team is looking to get back to the county finals, so that’s our goal.”

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