Lyndsey Sparks, Islip earn trip to first state final

After Saturday's game, Lyndsey Sparks' father had a message for her.

"He goes, 'Lyndsey, you gotta stop hitting the post!' " she said after Islip's 1-0 win over Williamsville East in a Class A state semifinal at Tompkins-Cortland Community College. "I've hit the post quite a few times, so I know the disappointment."

She hit the post Saturday, but as it turns out, it was in no way a disappointment. At the time of Mr. Sparks' comment, not many people knew it was actually his daughter who scored the winning goal. Not even Lyndsey Sparks herself.

Sparks settled the ball just inside the top of the box, shielded two defenders, turned and fired a shot that hit the far post. The ball then deflected off goalkeeper Sarah Panepento, and rolled toward the goal line. Panepento dived and tipped the ball back into the box, where Dominique Bono followed up the shot and knocked in the rebound for what looked like the winner with 1:23 left.

But referees confirmed after the game that the initial shot by Sparks did cross the goal line.

"It doesn't matter who scored," Bono said. "This means a lot because Islip has never come this far."

Who scored was of no concern to Islip, which celebrated the fact that it was 83 seconds away from advancing to the state title game for the first time in the history of the Islip girls soccer program. "It was so exciting," Mary O'Hara said. "I saw it hit off the bar and I was like, 'No, not again.' Then everyone was going crazy."

It was fitting, though, that the winner came from Sparks, who has seen a few of her shots hit steel rather than net of late.

"She was due for one," Islip coach Mike Reilly said of Sparks, who hit the crossbar in the Long Island title game. "If anyone was going to get one at that point, it was going to be her."

Cassidy Hock made three saves, including a leaping swat to stop a header in the box midway through the second half.

Emma Baumbusch, Ali Bondi, Kayla Multer, and Kerri McDonald led Islip's defense.

"We've won countless county championships, and we've never made it this far," McDonald said. "So it's an amazing accomplishment."

Islip (13-2-1) advances to plays Jamesville-DeWitt in the state final Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Cortland University. After Saturday's game, Sparks had a message for her father.

"Before I found out I actually scored, I actually yelled at him," she said. "I was like, 'Don't tell me to stop hitting the post! We got an opportunity out of it.' "

And, as it turns out, a goal.