Mills' goal caps Sayville's win over BBP
Sayville's Taylor Mills #5, moves the ball past Bayport's Christy Thoden #5. (Sept. 22, 2010) Credit: George A. Faella
Sayville goalie Kerry Swike vacated the net as she lunged to her right to block a shot with less than 10 seconds left, and the ball caromed to an offensive player. So often in field hockey, those deflections result in empty-netter scores. But not on Madelyn Vetrano's watch. With about five seconds left, the defender maneuvered through the crowd, set up at goal, and redirected the final shot as time expired.
And so ended the frantic final seconds of a frenetic contest that saw the Golden Flashes pull out a 4-3 win Wednesday in come-from-behind fashion to maintain their bragging rights over Division II rival Bayport-Blue Point.
"My heart was up here," said Sayville coach Patty Fedelem, pointing to her throat. "I couldn't utter a word."
The Phantoms, who haven't beaten Sayville since 2004, took a 2-0 lead early on goals by Cassy Barci and Briana Rubenstein.
"I was so nervous at that point," Shannon Litvin said. "It felt like we were going to lose."
That was Olivia Cabral's cue. With 6:15 left in the half, the midfielder took a pass from Litvin and launched an arching shot that whizzed over the goalie's shoulder to get the Golden Flashes (2-0) on the board.
"It was a jump-start for us," said Cabral, who added two assists. "Once we scored, we got that fire in the belly and it put some confidence in us."
And they put some balls in the goal with a six-minute barrage to end the half. Off Cabral's feed, Kristin Knopf tied the score at 3:45, then, with 30 seconds left, Emily Crawford scored to take the lead.
"When we [were up], it felt like we'd finally beat them," said Barci, who had two goals and an assist. "But I think we got full of ourselves."
Taylor Mills scored the deciding goal with 14:04 remaining. During a scrum in the circle, Cabral hooked a pass to Mills, who tapped it in from about six feet out to give the Golden Flashes a 4-2 lead. Barci scored off an assist from Jackie Muller with 6:39 left to pull the Phantoms (1-1) within one.
"It was a great pass from Olivia," said Mills, deflective of praise. After Sayville fell behind, Cabral was shifted up field to get more involved in the offense. "She's good at getting the ball to the forwards."
Cabral, a junior, said that leadership is something she's become more cognizant of. Her sister, Cassie, was the team's star and captain before graduating in 2009 and Olivia has taken the mantle - along with big sis' old No. 7 jersey.
"[Bayport] is always tough against us," she said. "As a leader, I had to step up."
