Ward Melville field hockey tops Smithtown East

Lauren Tarantino finally could relax, not fret that her next move - any hesitation or flinch in the wrong direction - could doom the Ward Melville girls field hockey team against its biggest rival.

This time, the goalie got enough breathing room to exhale in the final minutes. She beamed while walking off the field and glancing at the scoreboard, which read Ward Melville over Smithtown East, 3-0. Along the sideline of the host Patriots, there was glee for three.

"They're a great team and last year they really gave us a run for our money," said Tarantino, who made four saves in her second shutout of the season. "We came in really determined to show them what we have. The second we got that second goal, I knew we had it going."

Last season the teams were evenly matched and served as each other's greatest challenge. The previous three meetings between the two teams ended with 1-0 scores, including the 2009 regular-season finale, which the Bulls won to clinch the Division I title. Ward Melville later beat Smithtown East in the county final.

The teams' swarming, high-energy defenses and their elite goalies typically form a figurative forcefield around the net, but Saturday the Patriots finally broke through against Lauren Brennan.

"She's a great goalie, but one of our goals this year is to be more aggressive and take a lot of shots," Ward Melville coach Shannon Watson said. "Obviously, the more shots, the better chance we have of some going in."

The Patriots (3-0) scored 5 minutes, 11 seconds into the game on Liz Conley's goal. Brennan dove to her right to deflect a shot, but the ball rolled to Kim Geiger who made the whip pass to Conley, and she fired it into the left corner before the Bulls could recover.

SEE PHOTOSWard Melville 3, Smithtown East 0

"This is the biggest game for us, other than Sachem East," said Geiger, a first-year starter who is having a breakout season. "It feels amazing to beat them."

Ward Melville tacked on an insurance goal at 25:41 of the second half when Abby Beltrani, off a penalty corner feed from Sam Jacobson, lined one inside the left post from 10 feet.

"It's a little payback," said Beltrani, an All-American. She scored the third goal with 1:58 left on a penalty stroke. "They beat us on our home field last year, so it was nice to come back at them strong."

Though the Patriots went on to win a third straight Long Island title last year, they still resent the fact that Smithtown East denied them a perfect regular season. The Bulls (2-1) graduated 11 and Ward Melville seven, but the rivalry is as charged as it's been. The Patriots took the field with Kevin Rudolf blasting - "Some pump-up music," Jacobson said.

"We had opportunities, shooting-wise, and we just didn't finish," Bulls coach Ann Naughton said. "They're a good team and that's the bar we've got to measure up to . . . Our girls played hard to the end and we just have to learn and grow from this."

Brennan, who made two saves but surrendered her first goals this season, was visibly upset after the game and vowed her team would "get them next time. I know it."

We'll find out on Oct. 14 when Smithtown East hosts the rematch.