Hannah Porter, Avery Testa lift South Side girls soccer to Nassau Class AA final

Hannah Porter’s goal 12 minutes into the game proved to be the difference for No. 2 South Side against No. 3 MacArthur in the Nassau Class AA girls soccer semifinals.

South Side goalkeeper Avery Testa had several important saves in the 1-0 win, which was the team’s fourth shutout of the season. Testa made her fifth save as the clock expired, sealing the win for South Side.

“She did great, she’s a leader out of the back,” South Side head coach Judi Croutier said. “She came up big for us when we needed it.”

But while the Cyclones won off Porter’s eighth goal of the season, this game was anything but one-sided. MacArthur’s Hailey Metzger hit the crossbar on a shot with four minutes left in the first half. The team kept the momentum going into the final 40 minutes as the Lady Generals dominated possession.

Isabella Calabro didn’t seem to lose a tackle all game. She continued to keep MacArthur in the final third. The Lady Generals scored off a deflected save from South Side’s Avery Testa just nine minutes into the second half, but the goal was ruled offsides and disallowed.

“[Calabro’s] a fantastic player,” MacArthur head coach Steven Costello said. “She mostly plays [as a defensive midfielder], but we pushed her up to [striker] today… She’s a star.”

Calabro left the game with 13 minutes to go after a cut opened on her head defending a corner. Costello said she had 15 stitches three weeks ago and missed three games as a result. But reopening the wound didn’t prevent her from returning with a bandage with six minutes left to try and give her team the goal it needed.

MacArthur finishes its season with an 8-7-2 record. South Side (9-3-5) will play No. 1 Garden City at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the finals, a match Croutier is certainly looking forward to.

“It’s awesome. The girls have worked so hard all year,” Croutier said. “We have a big senior leadership group on this team, so being able to make it to the county finals is huge.”