'Pequa, GC, C. Moriches, Smithtown Christian in states
Garden City's Jill Yoo is carried on team's shoulders in Garden City's 1-0 win over South Side. (Nov. 10, 2010) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
When the girls soccer state championships begin Friday at SUNY-Cortland, four teams will represent Long Island.
Two from Nassau - Massapequa and Garden City - are making their first trips upstate in several years. Two Suffolk stalwarts - Center Moriches and Smithtown Christian - are looking to rewrite history at states from a year ago.
Defining dominance, Massapequa scored 83 goals while allowing three during the regular season and playoffs. After tying Northport in their opener, the Chiefs won 17 in a row. Rosie DiMartino (18 goals, seven assists) led the attack, contributing a goal or an assist in all but two games. In net, EmmaLee Meyer (56 saves), Morgan Roessler (13) and Grace Kraemer (10) consistently put up zeros.
Seeded fifth in the Nassau playoffs, Garden City proved why numbers don't always tell the entire story. The Trojans knocked off perennial Class A finalist South Side in a thriller, scoring their lone goal on a header with two seconds left in the first half.
Barbara Sullivan (13 goals, nine assists) leads an offense that has scored 56 goals, being shut out only once and scoring at least three goals 11 times. Keepers Christina Mangels, Tracy Rendano and Kelsey Tierney teamed up to allow only eight goals and post 14 shutouts.
Center Moriches can beat you in a variety of ways. It could be with the balanced scoring and methodical ball possession of Emma Whittle, Claire Brady, Jordan Sanders and Samantha Fitzgerald. Or with a stifling defensive unit led by Alexis Parlato, Tannicia Joseph and keeper Kelsey Glanzman, who has 12 shutouts. Making a second consecutive trip to the state tournament, Center Moriches returns to Cortland with more experience and talent than last season.
Smithtown Christian, the undefeated League VIII champion, returns to the site of its last defeat. The team has been undefeated since falling in the state semifinal last November, and Christina Casamassina and Chelsea Bellini will look to extend that streak. The forward tandem has totaled 69 goals this season, led by Casamassina with 37, and has been complemented well by Dominique Jack and Shannon Casey.
The Annette Mims-led defense has allowed only six goals all season, helping freshman keeper Hannah Steffens record nine shutouts, including seven straight. The team heads to states with what coach Steve Chandler calls a "business-trip mentality."
