Eye-opening start for Oceanside

After graduating 10 players from a team that reached the Nassau Class A girls’ lacrosse playoffs last spring, Oceanside has shown little signs of inexperience while busting out of the gate to a 6-0 start.

The Lady Sailors defeated their third conference rival, Hicksville, 15-8 on April 2 behind sophomore Cassie Cesario’s five goals and four assists, hat tricks from senior Sydney Oshinsky and freshman Alison Schwasnick, and 15 saves from sophomore goalie Taylor Passuello.

“We’re such a new and different team, but the girls have done a tremendous job,” coach Ken Dwyer said. “We had a lot of spots to fill, so it was hard to tell how things would come together with such an inexperienced group. 

“It’ll be interested to see how we continue to improve and match up against some of the top teams,” he added.

Keeping pace with Oceanside in the midfield has been a challenge for opponents. Senior Sydney Oshinsky, who was Honorable Mention All-County in 2013 and will play at SUNY-Cortland, a major Division III program, has been joined there by Cesario, a former attacker, and Schwasnick.

“Sydney’s a dominant player in all three aspects of the game,” Dwyer said of the four-year varsity performer who found the net 17 times in the first six games. “She’s a captain, and one of the best things about her is the example she sets for younger players,” he added.

Cesario, who earned All-Conference honors as a freshman, has made a smooth transition from the front to the midfield. She takes the lion’s share of draws and is tough to beat on groundballs, Dwyer said. “She’s doing everything for us,” he noted. After exploding for nine points in the win over Hicksville, Cesario’s numbers read 22 goals, 11 assists. 

Schwasnick, one of four freshmen on the roster, has started every game while totaling 12 goals. “She’s a great athlete and equally as strong at both ends of the field,” Dwyer said.

Senior Kelly Hannon, also a captain, spends time in the midfield and attack and does all the little things that don’t show up in a boxscore, Dwyer said. “Kelly’s such a valuable ingredient,” he said. “She does a nice job clearing the ball and helps us get into an offensive flow.”

The quarterbacks of the offense are sophomore Jenna Doherty and freshman Christina McCabe. They had 12 and 13 points, respectively, through six games and do a solid job of running an offense that’s produced an average of nearly 12 goals per game. “We run a lot of things from behind the cage,” Dwyer said. “They have good vision and rarely turn the ball over.”

Defensively, it all starts with Passuello in goal. She has three double-digit save games in a row. “She’s a difference-maker,” Dwyer said. Senior Erin Regan gives the team another quality shot-stopper. The defensive corps is entirely new and Dwyer said he couldn’t be happier with a rotation featuring sophomores Courtney Capobianco and Kerry Flavin, juniors Kristen Ekstrom and Shannon Gunderson, and freshman Samantha Stein.