Lady Rockin' Mules finish strong

Building a girls lacrosse program with athletes from Malverne and East Rockaway has proven to be no easy task. With volleyball, basketball, softball, and track typically being the sports of choice, few, if any, make lacrosse their number one game. 

Add in the fact that the team comprises student/athletes from two different school districts, who only play together a few months out of the year, and the undertaking becomes monumental.

Malverne/East Rockaway got off to an inauspicious start in 2018, losing its first six games, but found its stride at the midway point of the season and showed glimpses of promise for the future. 

The team capped off a four-game winning streak with a thrilling 11-10 victory over visiting Great Neck South on April 26. Senior Hope Matthews had seven goals and two assists to lead the charge for Malverne/East Rockaway. Sophomore goalie Kirstie Chinchilla had seven saves.

Head coach James Amalfitano was pleased with his team’s resilience. “The girls could have very easily gotten down on themselves, but they didn’t,” Amalfitano said. “Every game they gave terrific effort. As they became more comfortable playing with one another, they became more confident. What we try to do, win or lose, is to take positives away from every game. I’m very happy with the progress.”

Matthews, who led the team with 47 goals, had a career-high eight goals in a 13-11 victory over Sewanhaka. Junior Carmella Polizzi had nine saves in net for Malverne/East Rockaway. 

While her goal-scoring totals are high, Matthews is the consummate team player. “Hope isn’t the type to carry the ball the length of the field and hold onto it,” Amalfitano said. “She’s great at settling things down and working behind the cage. She has close to thirty assists. As a team, we got much better at controlling the ball as the season went along. It’s always a team effort.”

The team took a hit when it learned it would be without the services of senior defender Gabby Walsh who suffered an injury that forced her to miss the season. Steady play from senior Melissa Vasquez, and sophomores Tiffany Prewitt and Damilola Oloniyan led the defensive unit. 

A trio of sophomore midfielders, Nicolette Conserve, Emioluwa Abiola, and Destiny Mitchell, are a big part of the program’s future. Conserve found the back of the net 19 times, while Abiola and Mitchell scored 12 and 10, respectively. Abiola also handled the face offs for the team. 

Amalfitano believes freshman Ayeisha Lawrence has tremendous potential, and loves the aggressive play he gets from gritty sophomore Jocelyn Lovera.

“We are moving in the right direction,” Amalfitano said. “That’s really all you can ask for. We have a lot of young players who now have a year or two of varsity experience. This could be a solid group over the next couple of seasons if they continue to work at it. I like what I see for the future.”