Demmerle Hamel of South Side shoots and scores during a...

Demmerle Hamel of South Side shoots and scores during a Nassau girls lacrosse game against host Plainedge on Thursday. Credit: Dawn McCormick

It’s Demmerle Hamel’s time to shine.

The senior midfielder hadn’t seen a ton of game action the previous two years, but she’s made the most of her early opportunities this season.

Hamel scored six goals, including the first three, in South Side’s 17-8 win over Plainedge in non-league girls lacrosse Thursday at Plainedge High School. She scored five goals all of last season.

“We’ve had such a strong team every single year and the older girls would always push working on your own,” Hamel said. “This offseason and even on the one off day we have a week, I’m always working on my own.”

In South Side’s season opener on Tuesday, Hamel scored three goals in a 16-6 win over Oceanside.

“She’s getting a lot more playing time this year and she’s really stepped up,” coach Robert Devlin said. “She’s practicing and working hard and we’re starting to see the results.”

Hamel gave South Side a 1-0 lead over Plainedge off an assist from Charlotte Rathjen after 2:33 of play. But things didn’t open up until after a timeout with 17:57 left in the first half.

“We were going back and forth and not settling the ball, so we were being sloppy for no reason,” Hamel said. “Once we stop and talk about what needs to be fixed, it gets fixed really quickly.”

That’s an understatement. Thirteen seconds after the timeout, Hamel scored her second goal. She added another with 15:40 left in the half and wound up with

five goals as South Side took a 10-1 halftime lead.

With 8:41 left in the game, Caitlin Haggerty took a pass from Rathjen and scored a swift behind-the-back goal to give South Side a 15-3 lead.

“I work on it all the time in practice when we’re doing shooting drills, but it has to come at the right time,” said Haggerty, who scored four goals.

Rathjen finished with three goals and three assists and Ava Madden had a goal and four assists. Madison Wade scored three goals and Julia Foppiano had two goals and an assist for Plainedge (1-2).

South Side (2-0) suffered a semifinal loss to Wantagh in last year’s Nassau Class C playoffs, but the Cyclones are proving that they’re ready to make another run.

“It’s a different team from last year and we’re still getting to know each other,” Rathjen said. “As the games and practices have gone on, it feels like we’re growing and getting better together.”

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