O'Callaghan, Polizzano on a roll for New Hyde Park
New Hyde Park's Michelle Polizzano, who earlier scored the second goal of the game takes shot on goal in 2-0 New Hyde Park win. (Oct. 20, 2010) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
It had been four years since the New Hyde Park and Friends Academy field hockey teams faced each other and most of the girls, even the seniors, were on junior varsity then. But for New Hyde Park, new to Nassau Conference II and now having a shot at leaping into first place, this was most certainly a big game.
And for New Hyde Park, a big game means it's Peanut Butter-Jelly time - a playful nickname the tandem of Lisa O'Callaghan and Michelle Polizzano came up with for themselves.
Behind goals from O'Callaghan (Peanut Butter) and Polizzano (Jelly), New Hyde Park beat host Friends Academy, 2-0, Wednesday.
"It's all teamwork," said O'Callaghan, who scored the first goal and assisted on the second. Polizzano, who calls her teammates "the bread," said the two "have great chemistry and work really well together."
O'Callaghan, a junior, is reserved and a bit shy. Polizzano, the senior, is the talkative one. Both are among Nassau's scoring leaders, powering NHP to a 9-3 start, matching last season's win total. The two have only played together for two years, but they quickly formed quite a sandwich, um . . . duo.
"They're our mainstays," NHP coach Kori Brocking said. "They've come through so often, we almost expect them to score every game."
In an up-tempo first half that saw both offenses on the attack, O'Callaghan got the Gladiators on the board with 8:33 left before halftime. Set up about five yards in front of the goal, she received a quick cross from Mollie Stein and slapped the ball inside the right post.
With 18:30 remaining in the game, Polizzano scored off a long pass from O'Callaghan, tapping the ball into the right corner behind goalie Charlotte Gelfand (nine saves).
The defense took it from there, clamping down on the normally high-scoring Quakers (8-3-1). The Gladiators cleared three penalty corners in the second half to help Priscila Paulose (four saves) notch her seventh shutout.
"It's a matter of keeping our sticks down, telling each other who's going to the ball and being in the right spots," defender Brianna Chin said. "We did all that."
Quakers coach Christine Botti described the loss as a "bump in the road," adding her team would learn from it.
As for New Hyde Park, Brocking said, "We're ecstatic."
They should be. Thanks to Peanut Butter and Jelly, they're on a roll.
