East Meadow tops Baldwin in OT

Second-seeded East Meadow and No. 3 Baldwin failed to decide a winner in an hour’s worth of regulation in a Nassau Class A field hockey semifinal game Oct. 29, but overtime lasted less than a minute.

Junior Kelly Clarke scored 58 seconds into OT off an assist from junior Danielle Rivas to give East Meadow a 2-1 victory and an appearance in the county finals. Rivas, who missed the last three minutes of regulation due to cramping, controlled the rebound of a diving save by Baldwin senior goalie Jenn Doyle and slid a pass toward the right post where Clarke was parked.

“I saw the ball and took a swing,” Clarke said. “When I saw it go in, I never thought that would happen in a million years. We all just started hugging and screaming.”

The Lady Jets (7-4) defeated Baldwin (6-5) eight days earlier, 2-0, to earn home-field advantage in the semis. “These teams have a history,” East Meadow coach Courtney Castle said. “We’re always neck-and-neck. I remember losing in the semifinals to them on penalty strokes four or five years ago. Today was another intense game. It’s tough to beat a good team like that twice in a week’s time.”

It was a tough ending for the youthful Lady Bruins, who led 1-0 at halftime thanks to junior Christy Davis’ unassisted goal with 1:42 left in the first half. “We were ready to play and played with energy,” Baldwin coach Mike Hoover said. “We spent a lot of time on their side of the 50, but we weren’t able to finish. Some of the shots that found a way into the net earlier in the year didn’t go in late in the year.

“We had opportunities to go up 2-0,” Hoover added. “I think if we did that, the result would’ve been different.”

East Meadow, which got three saves from junior goalie Erin Callahan, dodged three penalty corners within the first 10 minutes of the second half. The hosts then netted the equalizer with 23:06 remaining when junior Victoria Bova one-timed a long crossing pass from junior Emily Leeb. “That was just a great goal,” Castle said. “The girls were a little down at halftime, but they stayed motivated. They knew if they kept working hard they could do it.”

Both defenses were difficult to crack. Baldwin’s unit was led by Dasia Jones, one of its five seniors, and junior Kaity Kelleher. Senior Sophia Moore and sophomore Nadia Elcock stood out in the midfield. “Nobody had any expectations of us,” Hoover said. “Our young players really developed. It’s going to be a fun bunch to coach for the next couple of years.”

East Meadow rotated six defenders, with senior Kerry Buckhaults and sophomores Erica Homan and Alyssa Fernandez handling the bulk of the workload.

“Both teams played amazing,” Clarke said. “I have such amazing teammates. I knew we were going to find a way to win.”