Postgame: Sachem North vs. Connetquot

More postgame reaction from No. 11 Sachem North's 2-1 win over No. 14 Connetquot in the Class AA quarterfinals on Wednesday.

EMILY JONES

On her goal:
“I still can’t believe it actually happened. It feels amazing. I feel like we should still be playing right now, but we won…There was a throw in, the ball was bouncing around, I stayed focused and touched it and that’s all we needed.”

On what the final minutes of the game felt like:
“Every emotion you can possibly imagine.”

On Connetquot’s 60-yard goal:
“I know Erin is an excellent goalie. It was an unlucky thing but, as a team, we held on.”

On the atmosphere after the Connetquot goal:
“It was a downer but there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win this game. We were going to come out hard.”

On her breakaway shot that was saved by Alix Lopez:
“I think there was three defenders behind me so I just shot it with all I can. Unlucky, but the goalie made a nice save. I wanted to breakdown and cry. I wanted to walk off the field. But I knew it I just had to keep going and not give up and it turned out good.”

On if she thought she would get another opportunity to score:
“You don’t get another chance like that. But I did. And my team never gave up”.

On playing Northport:
“They’re a very good team. But if we carry this over, this energy and intensity, we got this.”

On how Sachem North has come this far:
“Heart. Desire. Dedication. Good chemistry, I think that’s real important.

On the possibility of advancing to counties:
“We did it once before and we can do it again.”

ERIN MCNULTY

On advancing to the semifinals:
“We didn’t take anyone lightly. We kind of feel that some people did take us lightly because we were the 11 seed. We did upset Hauppauge and that was big. Going to the final four is huge. We just have to stay composed, stay focused and keep our head on the right track.”

On Jones’ goal:
“We knew that she was a little mad at herself for not scoring on the first one she had. Then she scores with one mintue left. It’s huge, especially against a team like Connetquot. Em comes up big again. She came up big in Ward Melville Game, in the Commack game, she came up big in the playoffs. If we keep coming up big, we can really go far with the heart we have.”

On Connetquot’s 60-yard goal:
“We got caught up. We thought it was offsides. We heard another whistle from the football team and we thought the game was stopped but apparently it didn’t…We heard the whistle, someone on our team screamed, ‘She’s off!’ Then we figured the girl was offsides and heard the whistle and we just stopped.”

SACHEM NORTH COACH CLAUDE AMALLOBIETA

On mindset after scoring with one minute left:
“About a minute left, there was only one thing going through my head: yell as loud as I possibly can to the defenders to remind them, play it simple, play it one touch, no unnecessary touches. Even though it’s something you think would happen naturally, in the excitement of going ahead with one minute, you need reminders every now and then. So really that was my only focus. To get word to the team that we play simple because you have a player like Murino who can kick the ball 50 yards. In a minute, you can get three chances on goal. So we couldn’t have even one mental lapse in that last minute. We had to play simple and play the ball to space.”

On Jones' goal:

“From the angle I had, it looked like Emily was shoulder to shoulder with a girl, she must have been able to get her shoulder in front and wound up being able to beat the keeper far post. Which was just inside the far post. “

On Stephanie Morini:
“She is certainly a weapon to have.”

On mood of team after Connetquot’s game tying goal:
“I think it was shock. I think it took a couple of mintues to settle in. The first reaction felt like we were down, the score got tied, but it felt like we were down.”

On rebounding from the goal to win the game:
“It’s great. Especially for a kid like Erin McNulty, the heart and soul, the anchor of the defense. A kid that everyone who knows her roots for her. It was great to get it for McNulty. It was great that Emily had two legitimate chances and came up short. I’m sure that was a monkey off her back as well.”

On Jones:
"Emily plays outside-mid rotation with Devin McMahon and Erica Magalhaes. The three of them share those two outside positions. They’re playing very well on the outside. I’m not sure she went in at all in the first half and knew that she was going to go in. Late in the game, fresh legs, she was able to beat a couple of players two times. She always plays a part in a close game. She’s on the field sometimes more than others.”

On how No. 11 Sachem North has managed to advance to the semifinals:
“We have played solid defense all season. Even when we weren’t really clicking offensively we were able to rely on our defense and a huge part of this team is the support we get from the players who aren’t on the field. The bench, on more than one occasion. the referee is asking me to please back up the girls, they need room to run. Having 28 kids who are literally on the edge of their seats or up out of their seats is tremendous, especially in the playoffs. That’s one of our strengths. Players who aren’t on the field are one of our team’s strengths.”

JOJO MURINO

On the loss:
“It’s heartbreaking. I just didn’t think we would lose today."

On her 60-yard goal:
“I've never scored from that far before.  I was trying to find one of my teammates. I was pretty surprised it went in. I was happy.”

On Connetquot’s season:
“I think we had a great season. I loved my team, we had so much fun.”

On closing out the Murino Sister Era at Connetquot:
“It’s been so much fun. I don’t regret anything. I think we left it all on the field.”

CONNETQUOT COACH JEN SHANKS

On the loss:
“We ran out of gas. We were a little tired today from our long game on Monday, we just weren’t able to put the pieces together. But we never gave up, we played together like a team. You win together as a team and you lose together as a team. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hold them off long enough.

“The girls are devastated. They are just so upset. With one minute left, it’s just too bad we couldn’t hold on a little longer. You never know what could happen in overtime. “

On Jones’ goal:
“We were there. I think the ball got stuck on one of my players and the Sachem North girl ran through it a little more. She was right in front of the net and was able to put it in.”

On being without Dawn Hickey:
“We could have really used her. “She’s a huge part of our offense. She’s so quick and tough up on the ball. It definitely hurt us not having her today.”

On the end of the Murino Era:
“We were able to really build the programs around all of them together. They really made their mark on Connetquot. Just being able to coach JoJo the last two years, she really is just a huge part of our team. She’s the heart and soul of our team. She is going to leave huge shoes to fill on and off the field.”

On keeper Alix Lopez breakaway save:
“She made an unbelievable kick save. It was unbelievable that she made that save. She’s only a ninth grader so I’m looking forward to having her the next three years.”

On her message to the team:
“Even though this season is over, we’ll be a team forever. I told them to keep their heads up. We got a lot further than anyone though we would. We didn’t have any individuals out there, we played together as a team and we exceeded most people’s expectations. Today wasn’t our day but be proud of what we accomplished.”