Dylan McNamara's overtime goal gives undefeated Sayville girls lacrosse win over Mt. Sinai
Sayville midfield Dylan McNamara reacts after scoring the game winner against Mount Sinai in a Suffolk girls lacrosse game, Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at Mt. Sinai. Credit: George A Faella
Unblemished and battle-tested.
The Sayville girls lacrosse team would have preferred to maintain their three-goal third-quarter advantage over Mount Sinai rather than play overtime, but the Golden Flashes have yet to be beaten for a reason.
Though Sayville lost the opening draw of overtime, it held steady on the defensive end – forcing a turnover and gaining one last possession in the final minute of the extra period. Freshman midfielder Dylan McNamara prevented a second overtime.
With possession behind and to the left of the net, McNamara darted a few yards upfield before halting, turning to her right and bouncing a shot into the top left corner of the goal with 5.5 seconds remaining in overtime. McNamara’s goal clinched a 9-8 win for visiting Sayville in Tuesday’s Suffolk Division II game.
“It was really cool,” McNamara said. “My team was definitely under pressure, but I feel like we handled it well and we got a goal out of it.”
McNamara had two goals for Sayville (9-0, 7-0 Suffolk II).
“She’s a fantastic player,” Sayville coach Gary Jensen said. “She deserves all the success that she gets. She works very, very hard for it, so I’m very proud of her.”
Sayville led 7-4 with 5:41 left in the third quarter. Mt. Sinai's Alexa Spallina found fellow attacker Camryn Chamberlain for two consecutive goals – one with 9.2 seconds left in the third and the other with 9:48 left in the fourth – to make it 7-6. Spallina, Inside Lacrosse’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025 and a Syracuse commit, added a third straight assist to attacker Sophia Masone as Mount Sinai (3-4, 3-4) tied it at 7 with 7:30 left in the fourth.
Midfielder Sophia Buffardi scored her third goal to give Sayville an 8-7 cushion with 5:44 left in regulation, but Mount Sinai midfielder Kayli Carannante answered with her second goal to tie it again with 2:24 remaining.
Neither team recorded a shot on goal in the final 2:24 of regulation.
“I thought we stayed mentally tough,” Jensen said. “We never let our highs get too high and our lows get too low, so I was very proud of their mental approach.”
Sayville picked up its third one-goal win of the season, the others coming against divisional foes Bayport-Blue Point and Eastport-South Manor.
“Like [Jensen] said, our mentality, [being] mentally tough,” McNamara said. “I think everyone in our league is really good. So everyone we play, we need to have that mindset. And I think it works because obviously we’re winning and the mentality’s working.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
