HS roundup: Mattituck/Greenport/Southold girls lacrosse claims Suffolk crown; Great Neck South wins girls badminton title
Mattituck midfield Ella Suglia moves around the net against Babylon defense Ashley Batiz-Bonilla in the Suffolk Girls Class D finals, Thursday, May 25, 2023 at William Floyd Athletic Complex. Credit: George A Faella
Ella Suglia had four goals and two assists and Sage Foster added four goals to lead No. 3 Mattituck/Greenport/Southold to a 12-6 win over No. 1 Babylon in the Suffolk Class D girls lacrosse final on Thursday.
“I honestly can’t explain it,” Suglia said. “We came out firing and did not stop. I’m so grateful, happy and appreciative of this team.”
Gianna Calise scored two goals and Page Kellershon and Megan Tobin each added a goal. Aiko Fujita made nine saves.
Sophia Conti scored five goals for Babylon (9-8).
Mattituck (11-7) will face the winner of Cold Spring Harbor/Carle Place in the Long Island championship on Sunday, June 4 at Adelphi University. — DEAN ZULKOFSKE
GIRLS BADMINTON
Twin sisters Adora and Akira Cho won at fourth doubles for the match-clinching win to lead No. 1 Great Neck South to a 5-2 victory over No. 2 Jericho in the Nassau girls badminton team championship match. The Cho sisters defeated Sophia Zhu and Winnie Liu, 21-14, 21-18, to send Great Neck South (17-0) to the Long Island Championship next Thursday at Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School.
“We had a next point mentality because we understand the importance of having a short-term memory in our play,” Adora Cho said.
“Our main focus was to be in the moment and just play how we did all season and have trust in each other through the ups and downs,” added Akira.
Jericho finished 14-3, with each loss coming to Great Neck South.
“Jericho never disappoints, so we had to be prepared,” coach Allison Gottfried said. “It’s hard to beat a team three times in a season.”
— JUSTIN JOSEPH
BASEBALL
Calhoun 5, Mepham 4: Ryan Pucella went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Matt Kalfas went 3-for-3 to lead No. 2 Calhoun over No. 5 Mepham in game two of the Nassau Class A semifinals on Wednesday. Joey Goodman scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning off an errant pickoff throw. PJ Kakalos allowed six hits and two earned runs while striking out five in 7 2⁄3 innings to earn the win and Sean Dipaola earned the save. Steven Mulqueen hit a home run for Mepham. Calhoun (23-2) will host Mepham (19-4-1) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in the deciding game three.
Division 3, Garden City 1: Isiah Marino’s sacrifice fly scored Cody Brush in the top of the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie to lead No. 1 Division over No. 6 Garden City and send Division to the Nassau Class A finals. Joe Yovino added an RBI single later in the inning. Christian Varela allowed one run on four hits to earn the win and Matt Bolton went 2-for-2 with three stolen bases. Division (25-1) will begin a three-game series against the winner of No. 2 Calhoun/No. 5 Mepham at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at SUNY Farmingdale. Garden City finished 18-7.
SOFTBALL
Center Moriches 8, Babylon 4: Jenna Kilkenny went 2-for-3 with three runs and an RBI to lead No. 1 Center Moriches over No. 2 Babylon in the Suffolk Class B final. Emma Powell went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Center Moriches (11-11) will face the Seaford in the Long Island championship at 5 p.m. next Thursday at SUNY Farmingdale.
Smithtown East 4, Riverhead 0: Marissa Formosa hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning to lead No. 6 Smithtown East over No. 9 Riverhead in the Suffolk AA finals. Eva Roman and Leila Picolli each added an RBI in the bottom of the sixth inning. Gabby Amicizia struck out three batters in the shutout. Smithtown East (17-5) advances to the Suffolk County finals on Monday.
FLAG FOOTBALL
MacArthur 25, Division 0: Lexie Thompson threw for 275 yards and four touchdowns to lead MacArthur over Division in the Nassau semifinals. Hailey Metzger had seven receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns and Ava Angiuli caught six passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Jovi Bennett had a sack. MacArthur (16-1) will face Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK in the final at 5 p.m. on Friday at Long Beach Middle School.
