Kelly Trotta steps up to lead Manhasset

The Manhasset girls lacrosse team has enviable depth on its attack, and that collection of offensive threats has proved valuable in the early stages of spring.

When Maryland-bound senior Madison Rielly went down with an injury on March 23 against Long Beach, coach Danielle Gallagher turned to others to fill the void. Kelly Trotta was the latest to step up, tallying three goals and an assist in an 11-8 victory over visiting Massapequa in a Nassau Conference I matchup Tuesday night.

Seven players scored for the Indians, who improved to 2-1. Massapequa, the defending Nassau Class A champion, fell to 1-1.

“I never want to rely on one kid, because come playoffs if you rely on one kid, it’s not going to bode well for the team,” Gallagher said. “All these kids can contribute. I don’t just have four attackers; I think I have six or seven attackers that I can go to and rely on.”

On Trotta’s first goal of the game, she charged down the field in transition after a turnover, hoping to beat the halftime horn. After a shooting space violation, she tallied a free position goal that made the score 6-3.

Trotta scored Manhasset’s first two goals of the second half, both on skip shots, for an 8-4 lead. Maggie Beresheim scored her second goal of the game for a 9-6 advantage.

“Today we really tried working on spreading out, especially with one of our best attackers, Madison Rielly, out, so we really wanted to work on spreading out and working as a team together,” Trotta, a junior, said. “She’s a big loss in our offense, so we know if we want to make up for that loss, we all had to work together and move it around fast.”

SEE PHOTOSMassapequa vs. Manhasset girls lacrosse

Massapequa cut its deficit to 9-8 on a well-executed give-and-go between Jackie Gatti (four goals) and Sophia Theodorous (one assist), but freshmen Grace Gately scored two straight for Manhasset to halt the comeback.

Gallagher awarded Erin Trotta, Kelly’s twin, the game ball for her work on defense. She limited Massapequa’s versatile offense and forced the issue with double-teams.

“After every goal, we come together and figure out what’s going wrong so we can attack the problem,” Erin said. “Everyone was just out there today going as hard as we could.”

Krissy Kowalski made six saves for the Indians and Olivia Dooley had five draw controls. Dooley and Casey Roszko were commended by Gallagher for their defensive efforts.

With a key player injured, the Indians have to rely on everyone else. They’re on the right track.