Fam squad: Samantha and Ava Kolb give Long Beach a lift

Samantha and Ava Kolb, sisters on the Long Beach girls soccer team, never knew if they’d get the chance to share a field with one another.

Samantha, a senior, and Ava, a freshman, have a wide age gap. But thanks to their talent, they are playing their second varsity season together, and Long Beach is better for it. The Marines have an 8-1 record through Thursday.

The sisters would train together in the backyard, but there was no guarantee their playstyles would mesh on a varsity field. 

“At first it was definitely a little rocky because we haven’t played with each other before,” Samantha said. “But it didn’t take us long to pick that up.”

And the proof is on the pitch. Samantha had 11 goals and six assists and Ava added two goals and seven assists last season. This year, Samantha, a forward, leads Long Island in goals (19) and is tied for third in points (22) and Ava, a midfielder, has a goal and five assists, through Thursday.

“I know Ava has told me this is so fun for her and to be able to have Sam there is such an incredible experience for her,” coach Ashley Castanio said. “It’s a great role model to be able to have your older sister out there and for Sam to be having the kind of season she is, Ava wants all that, too.”

The experience has also helped them grow closer as sisters. Sam said there are times when her parents try to talk to Ava about the game, but the freshman doesn’t want to hear it from them. But it is taken differently from a sister.

“She really only listens when it comes from me,” Samantha said. “My parents will talk to her and then come to me and be like, ‘Can you talk to her and see what she thinks about the game?’ She likes hearing it from me and not from them.” 

Ava wants to make this season all it can be for both her and her sister. With Long Beach and Samantha having a strong start, the two don’t want their varsity time to end.

“I talk about it all the time with her. I tell her, ‘I’m so sad this is your last year and we’re not going to play soccer together anymore,’” Ava said. “It does motivate me a lot.”

“I just want to finish strong,” Samantha said. “And Ava will certainly take over the next few years.”

Kings Park heroics

Kings Park had its second, thrilling final-minute victory of the season when Sammy Hassan scored on a corner kick from Mia Plutzer with 10 seconds left in the second half in a 1-0 victory over Islip Monday. Later in the week, Anne McGovern scored in the second overtime period in a 2-1 victory over Harborfields. McGovern also scored an overtime goal overtime in a 2-1 victory over East Islip, the defending Suffolk Class A champions, September 20.

Seaford making the adjustment

The Vikings moved down to Class B due to enrollment and may be the class of the classification this fall. Seaford is 10-0-1 through Thursday and has outscored opponents, 41-5. The Vikings scoring has been balanced with Kaylie Conklin (eight goals, four assists), Ally Cullingford (seven goals, two assists), Meghan Stovall (six goals, three assists) and Ryleigh Nocera (six goals, three assists).