East Meadow poised for success

Sitting atop arguably the toughest conference in Nassau County soccer, the East Meadow Lady Jets know they can’t afford to look too far ahead, even in the face of a high expectations after returning most of their roster following a Class AA semifinals berth a year ago.

So far, their deliberate approach has worked well. At 4-1 in Conference AA1 entering this week, the Lady Jets appear poised for another deep playoff run.

“We have a seasoned group,” coach Adam Hananel said. “We’re at a point where the girls feel it’s their time. They’ve experienced enough and they’re confident enough that they can make a run at it.”

What makes his team stand out, Hananel said, is their diverse skillset that allows them to win games in a variety of ways. Boasting of a mix of playmaking ability, speed, physicality and a star goalkeeper, the Lady Jets have few weaknesses.

“We just keep it simple and change the point of attack,” Hananel said, “and have the ability to swing it side to side and break down the opponent while playing gritty, tough defense.”

The Lady Jets faced a test in their opening conference game. Hosting a formidable Farmingdale team on Sept. 15, they won 1-0 behind a late second half goal by sophomore Myla McLeod and a shutout effort by junior keeper Stephanie Sparkowski.

Six days later, they suffered their only loss so far, at Baldwin, 2-0, a tight matchup that came down to one sloppy giveaway in their own box that led to an easy put away. They surrendered a second goal late when they were aggressively pushing up to try for a hopeful tying goal.

But the Lady Jets have since stuck to their game plan, parlaying three decisive victories in a row, against Wantagh, Hicksville and Port Washington, respectively, outscoring the three schools 8-1. “Each one of those opponents presented a different challenge,” Hananel said. “Each game someone stepped up and made a play.”

In their victories, their diversity has shown. The Lady Jets have scored eight goals in four conference wins by six different girls, including one from Sparkowski off a free kick in the Wantagh victory.

Hananel praised his keeper, who he said is a “one-of-a-kind” player who adds another level of confidence to a defense already fortified by senior center back Kayla Leary, an All-County and All-State athlete.

Offensively, he praised senior Rachel Rose and sophomore Scarlett Espinosa, both speed players on the outside who can wear down their defenders, and who mesh well with playmaking forwards Emma Terino, a sophomore, and McLeod. In the middle, he lauded seniors Tayler Keicher and Christina Pavon for their toughness and leadership.

Roster depth being their only shortcoming – against Port Washington they played with only two substitutes. But Hananel said his team will get a huge lift from the imminent return of junior Alyssa Vega, who suffered an ACL injury at the end of last season.

With more than half the season remaining, Hananel said they will continue to take it one game at a time, but were eager to avenge last year’s semifinal loss against Massapequa on Monday, after the Herald went to press, and for a rematch against Baldwin on Oct. 10.

“We want to win it all. That’s our goal every season. We want to be the best team,” Hananel said. “We’ve got to take it piecemeal, but we all agree that we want it to be our time.”