Mia Delmond's goals lead South Side over MacArthur for Nassau Class A girls soccer title
Nora Basile #2 of South Side, second from left, gets congratulated by teammates including Kate Sweeney #9, left, Emma Madden #12, second from right, and Mia Delmond #10, right, after a goal in the second half on Monday, March 8, 2021. Credit: James Escher
Regardless of the game’s outcome, it was the final varsity game for everybody on the field. And it was as if nobody wanted it to end.
Typically, the county champion would advance to a Long Island championship, which is also a Southeast Regional Final in the state tournament. But with no girls soccer state championships this season, every player wanted to leave every ounce of themselves on the field. Win or lose, this was the end of the road.
And for 80 minutes of regulation, it seemed no one would leave with a win or loss. But Mia Delmond changed that with one kick.
The South Side junior forward found a loose ball in the 18-yard box, took a dribble and fired a shot to the left corner past the goalkeeper with 2:27 remaining in the first overtime period as No. 2 South Side defeated host top-seeded MacArthur, 2-0, in the girls soccer Nassau Class A championship Wednesday evening.
Delmond added a second goal with 4:07 remaining in the second overtime period.
"I just knew we just had to go, go, go," said Delmond. "I just see the ball and I don’t want to stop running and good things happen when you just keep going and everyone pushed their hardest tonight."
Delmond’s leg delivered South Side its first county championship since 2014 and the Cyclones finished the season at 11-2-4. MacArthur, the defending Nassau Class A champions, finished at 13-1-2.
The South Side defense made life challenging on a tough MacArthur offense. The Cyclones backline, including Anna Pennecke, Cristina LiCalzi, Sydney Rathjen and Maddy Wolfrom, limited scoring chances with Avery Testa making eight saves for South Side.
The Cyclones had a little revenge in mind also, as MacArthur defeated South Side, 3-2, in the 2019 Nassau Class A semifinals en route to the Generals’ county title.
South Side also had a few chances to win in regulation, but the MacArthur defense and goalkeeper made key stops in pivotal moments — highlighted by a play from Alyssa Accordino.
Accordino, a senior midfielder, was positioned on the opposite post from the goalkeeper for a South Side corner kick early in the second half. After a scramble in the 18-yard box following Pennecke’s corner kick, South Side had its best scoring chance of regulation. But Accordino was on the goal line and cleared the ball out of harm’s way for the Generals.
"We were on the bus saying before, ‘We need to prove to people South Side is back on the map,’" said LiCalzi. "We haven’t been to counties in a really long time and the fact that we are back and won is a really amazing feeling.
"It stinks we can’t go to states, but this is our states. And we put South Side back on the map."
