Plainedge girls soccer earns its first Nassau Class A crown with OT win over Seaford

Plainedge partied like it was … the first time ever. And that’s because for the program, it was.

Third-seeded Plainedge defeated No. 4 Seaford, 2-1, in overtime in the girls soccer Nassau Class A final at Cold Spring Harbor High School on Tuesday night. The Red Devils celebrated their first county title in program history in style, bringing over their large speakers that played custom pregame warmup music and blasted a postgame celebration mix in front of their fans.

“We knew this was the first time and we really wanted to put our year on the banner,” said Kiera Reed, a senior defender who assisted on both goals. “It’s just so special for us to be able to get here as a team and a family because that’s what we’ve become over these past few months.”

Plainedge (13-2-3) advances to play the winner of Shoreham-Wading River/Kings Park in the Long Island Class A championship/Southeast Regional Final at Shoreham-Wading River High School on Saturday at 11 a.m.

“We knew from the start we could do this and that we’d be one of these final teams here,” Reed said. “It motivated us to get here and be our best and it just feels really good to see all the hard work pay off.”

Reed lined up for a free kick from near midfield less than three minutes into overtime. She knew if put enough power on her kick to challenge the goalkeeper, something good could happen. That’s exactly what occurred when Madison Wade escaped from a pile of players off a rebound and scored the winning goal 3:06 into the first overtime period to secure the victory.

“All we needed was one good hit to get it into the goal,” Wade said. “I ran in and was like, ‘I have to get this goal,’ and then there it was.”

Plainedge refocused entering overtime after Arianna Garcia scored on a 40-yard free kick with 12:57 left in the second half to tie the score at 1 for Seaford (8-4-4). The Plainedge goalkeeper got her hands on the ball on the free kick, but she was ruled to be standing in the net at the time of contact.

“I saw their faces before the first overtime and it was in their eyes,” coach Michael Vitale said. “I said, ‘Are you girls going to go out there and play now?’ and they said, ‘We are.’ They were not going to give up and that’s what they did. I’m so proud of them.”

Plainedge wasted no time at the start of regulation either when Jessica Faranda crashed the net following a corner kick from Reed and scored off her body to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead 1:23 into the contest.

“I don’t even know [what happened],” Faranda said. “We knew we had to start out fast and I just went for it. I hoped the kick would be there and I was like, ‘I’m just going to run. Hopefully I don’t hit anyone.’”

All she hit was the ball, and it was a key play to bring Plainedge its first girls soccer title.

“We’ve been working so hard for this,” Faranda said. “Practiced every day, trained so hard and it’s just unbelievable that we could finally achieve this.”

“They played with heart and that’s what I love about them,” Vitale said. “They never backed down.”