Catherine Nolan's penalty kick in OT gives Center Moriches LI Class B crown
Center Moriches teammates celebrate after defeating Carle Place 3-2 in overtime after the Long Island Class B finals at Adelphi University on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. Credit: James Escher / James Escher
Casey Luongo had one simple message for Catherine Nolan.
"All I said to her," Luongo said, "was bring us to states."
Message received. Nolan's penalty kick with 1:15 remaining in the first overtime period propelled Center Moriches to a 3-2 win over Carle Place in the Long Island Class B championship game Saturday at Adelphi University.
"I wanted to score for Casey to bad," Nolan said. "I wanted to win it for everyone."
Luongo, a junior forward who returned from a torn ACL last season to become Long Island's leading scorer with 30 goals and counting, split two defenders and burst into the box for a breakaway. With nothing between her and the goalkeeper but turf, Luongo had one thing on her mind: "States."
"But then I remember running down and getting laid out and my leg started to hurt," she said.
Luongo was taken down from behind on the play, for which a red card was issued and a penalty kick awarded. She was down for a few minutes before walking off on her own power.
"At first I was like 'Uhhh, I want to take the penalty kick,' " Luongo said. "But when I heard that Cat was taking it, I was like 'We are fine, she can put it away.' "
Nolan was somewhat nervous because she had been practicing penalty kicks on turf and kept overshooting.
Said Nolan: "I just calmed myself down, shot it, and placed it"
And sent Center Moriches to the state tournament. The Red Devils (15-1-1) play in the Class B semifinals at noon on Saturday at Cortland High School.
"We came for one thing," Center Moriches coach Sara Sullivan said, "and we are leaving with what we wanted."
Janine Ratti opened the scoring off a cross from Paige Volkmann just 5:14 into the game to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead. Nicole O'Connell scored during a volley after Catherine Gambino's corner kick with 33:25 remaining as Carle Place evened the score at 1.
Luongo put Center Moriches back in front after breaking free, cutting inside and firing a low shot into the net for a 2-1 lead. Just 1:29 later, Gambino's corner kick bounced directly into the goal for the equalizer.
The Center Moriches defense, anchored by Sophia Sacknievich and Madeleine Juliano, helped limit scoring opportunities late in regulation and overtime, setting the stage for the winning goal.
Afterward, Luongo had another message for Nolan.
"I hugged her to death," Luongo said, "and told her, 'Thank you. You just brought us to states.' "
