Carly Greenbaum, Leah Kaufer each score four goals to help Syosset girls lacrosse beat Seaford
Leah Kaufer also had three assists for Syosset in Nassau I game. She opened the scoring by scoring game’s first two goals on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Syosset seniors Carly Greenbaum and Leah Kaufer have four years of built chemistry on the lacrosse field, and it certainly shows.
In Syosset’s 17-8 road victory over Seaford on Wednesday in Nassau Conference I, Greenbaum and Kaufer scored four goals each. Greenbaum added two assists and Kaufer had three.
“They’ve come a long way,” coach Lauren Lertora said. “I’m so proud of them and their leadership and how far they’ve come together.”
It was Kaufer who opened up the scoring for Syosset (6-2, 2-2), bouncing in a penalty shot. Four minutes later, she won the draw and took it all the way to the net.
Greenbaum added two goals in the first quarter, stealing both attempted outlet passes from the Seaford (4-3, 1-3) goalie and sending them in.
The close relationship between the seniors paid off on the scoreboard, with the two linking up to assist and score for three goals in the second half.
“The connection, it’s there,” Greenbaum said. “If I see her cutting, I know that I can give it to (Kaufer) and she’ll put it in the back of the net. We trust each other, and we know that we’re both going to make the best plays for each other and the team.”
It wasn’t just those two who made an impact on Syosset’s offense. Freshman Jadyn Stadler had three goals and one assist and Julia Shaughnessy and Ella Fragoso each added two goals.
“A main thing about our team is that we don’t have one superstar that’s going to score all the goals in the game,” Greenbaum said. “Everyone on our offense is a threat and everyone can put the ball in the back of the net.”
“We’re unselfish,” Kaufer said. “There was rarely a goal that wasn’t assisted, and that just shows how well we work together.”
Lertora said that although it was a great day for them offensively, it’s the defense that wins games.
“You can’t have a great game without having a great defense,” Lertora said. “Our defense has been working hard and they did a great job of picking up those ground balls and clearing the ball for us.”
At the center of the defense are goalies Ava Ceglia and Lily Brill. Ceglia made five saves and Brill had four.
“We are so fortunate to have two amazing goalies, Lertora said. “I’m not sure many coaches can say that they have two goalies they fully trust. They came up huge with saves today and they’re just really great at communicating and running our defense”
Four years later, Greenbaum and Kaufer are determined to win a county championship before they graduate.
“We’ve been working so hard for all these years, and I feel like this is the most confident we’ve been,” Kaufer said.
“We know we have to be unselfish,” Greenbaum said. “I believe this team has the qualities to win a county championship.”
