Sayville defeats M. Place, stays unbeaten

It was a unique doubleheader for Samantha Bishop and Amanda Famularo. Two soccer games in two different states and a four-hour drive home somewhere in between.

"We're pretty tired," Famularo said, "but we came here to play."

To do so, they crossed state lines from Virginia where they played a tournament with their travel team. The trip paid off as they helped Sayville defeat Miller Place, 4-1, in a matchup of League VI unbeatens.

Bishop helped anchor the defense and Famularo scored what proved to be the game winner on a shot that hit the crossbar and dropped into the goal for a 2-1 lead with four minutes left in the half.

Jacqueline Christensen sent a perfect ball from midfield over the defense to Madison Hoon, who stopped the ball from going over the endline and sent a cross to an unmarked Amber Petrillo, who tapped it in for a 3-1 lead 13 minutes into the second half. Amy Gromling added a goal eight minutes later to seal the win.

"I think we definitely sent a message to other teams that we really want to go far this year," Famularo said.

Karysa Pikoulas sent a chip pass into the box to Kayla Ceschini, who fired into the back of the net for her 11th goal of the season and a 1-0 lead for Miller Place (5-1) 17 minutes in.

SEE PHOTOSSayville 4, Miller Place 1

It was only the second time this season Sayville (6-0) trailed and it lasted less than three minutes. After a scramble in the box, Julianna Johnston, the lone freshman on the team, fired a low shot into the corner of the net to tie the score.

It's because of the contributions from players like Johnston that a deep team which came within penalty shots of winning a Long Island Championship has more depth, balance and versatility this season. "A lot of people are stepping up this year and filling in those spaces from the players who left," Bishop said. "So we should be back to where we were last year or even better."