Fortunato, McNally lead Northport girls

As the proverb goes, "revenge is a dish best served cold."

Northport waited more than 10 months to face Bay Shore, the team that upset the Tigers in last year's Suffolk Class A final, and Mother Nature abided with gray skies and steady wind gusts to make less than optimal weather conditions.

Cortney Fortunato had four goals and four assists and Kiera McNally had four goals to lead Northport past Bay Shore, 16-9, in a Division I girls lacrosse game Saturday afternoon.

"It was definitely a big revenge game," Fortunato said. "We know what that feeling was like of losing last year, so it was about going out and making a statement."

Added McNally: "We were so pumped to play this game because of last year. Everyone was excited on the bus, during warm-ups. I'm so happy. I wanted to [beat] them. Everyone did."

Fortunato scored three goals and assisted on another to help the Tigers to a 7-1 lead with 8:28 left in the first half. Bay Shore scored three straight goals before halftime to cut it to 7-4.

The Tigers scored three goals in the first five minutes of the second half to open the lead back up to 10-4, and Dorrien Van Dyke scored a hat trick in the final 3:25 to close the game strong for the Tigers (7-0).

SEE PHOTOSNorthport 16, Bay Shore 9

Kyra Harney had three goals and Samantha Fagone made 11 saves for Bay Shore (5-2).

The Marauders did a good job containing Shannon Gilroy, the leader in points on Long Island this season. Gilroy had one goal and two assists but still had an impact outside of the boxscore.

"She was the key to our transition," Northport coach Carol Rose said of the Florida-bound Gilroy. "She helped us on the draw [and] did very well on defense. She causes a lot of things to happen."

Rose felt her team could have performed much better but acknowledged weather played a role in the game.

SEE PHOTOS2011 girls lacrosse players to watch

"I didn't think we played well at all," she said. "Weather is a factor and wind is a factor, for sure. This is our worst game we've played all year."

The seven-goal win was the closest margin of victory for the Tigers this season and if this performance was their worst, then future opponents should be fearful of their best.