Hope Breslin, Kristen Bischoff score in Massapequa's 'AA' win
Massapequa celebrates its first goal of the game during the Nassau Class AA final on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
That's why they're called "The Swarm."
Flashback to Halloween. All of the players on the Massapequa girls soccer team roamed the halls at school dressed as bumblebees. They wore antennae, black tutus and a yellow shirt with "Swarm" written across the front.
Why, you ask?
"At the beginning of the season, we wanted a team nickname," senior captain Olivia Stegner said. "So we decided on 'The Swarm,' as in being together and being one. Like a swarm of bees."
Tuesday night, they played swarming defense en route to a 2-0 win over Hicksville in the Nassau Class AA county championship at Mitchel Athletic Complex.
The queen bees on defense of late have been Melanie Hingher, who Tuesday night displayed her composure by juggling the ball in the box and clearing it to safety, and Stegner, who has been making tackles and winning balls in the midfield.
"We were planning to spread it out wide, control the game from the beginning, possess the game and take control," Hingher said. "We are really excited to get this win."
Sara Mangialardi served a perfect corner kick that was headed in by Hope Breslin in the 25th minute to give top-seeded Massapequa, the defending state champion, a 1-0 lead.
Hingher's free kick was flicked in by Kristen Bischoff with 1:35 remaining to seal Massapequa's 11th county title in 12 seasons.
The loss brought an end to one of the most successful seasons in program history for No. 6 Hicksville (7-7-4), which came within one victory of its first county championship.
As for the Chiefs (14-1-3), they keep buzzing right along. Rebecca White made four saves in the Chiefs' third straight postseason shutout. Massapequa will play West Islip or Smithtown West for the Long Island championship Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Dowling Sports Complex.
"We can do anything we put our mind to," Mackenzie Palmer said. "We are a unit and we all have the same goal. Once it was over, it felt amazing to fulfill that goal. We all ran to our keeper to celebrate."
And they swarmed each other.
