Majorana & Co. know Manhasset girls' D is key

In addition to a heaping helping of goals, Manhasset is mastering that all-too-underrated part of a complete victory: a daily dose of vitamin D.

Halle Majorana had five goals and four assists and Cathryn Avallone and Kerri Fleishhacker each had three goals and an assist for Manhasset as it cruised past visiting North Shore, 19-7, Friday in a rematch of the last two Nassau Class C girls lacrosse championship games.

It was the third straight 19-goal game for Manhasset (8-0, 6-0 Conference I), which has not allowed a Long Island opponent to reach double digits.

Maggie Reichenbach and Meghan Markham led the defense in front of goalies Grace Morelli (seven saves) and Jen Levy (four) for Manhasset. Kathleen Lennon had three goals and Amanda Johansen two goals for North Shore (6-2, 5-1).

"[The defenders] do not let us score in practice," said Majorana, a sophomore. "It's a good thing we don't have to play them in a real game."

Added Fleishhacker: "It gets pretty heated in practice."

Those practice battles are the reason Manhasset makes it look effortless on both sides of the ball. And as intense as those practices can be, it only breeds camaraderie. Fleishhacker sometimes drops back and plays defense and said her back-line teammates will let her know what she should be doing.

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"The big thing is communication," said Reichenbach, a senior captain. The communication comes easy despite the fact that the Indians feature just seven seniors. It helps that in Manhasset, they start them young.

"I came in new to defense as a freshman," said Markham, a junior. "I learned so much. We came in not knowing anything and then played every minute as sophomores."

Now juniors, Markham and Fleishhacker move into leadership roles. Said Fleishhacker: "We hear teams getting frustrated and yelling at each other. You'll never hear that from us."

Added Reichenbach: "We all hang out on weekends . . . Even when we have a bad practice and coach is mad, we'll sit down, have our own captain meeting and work it out ourselves."