Lady Sailors overcome slow start

With three wins in its last four games and showing signs of picking up the offensive pace, Oceanside has its sights set on qualifying for the Nassau Class A girls’ lacrosse playoffs despite a rough start.

“We’re starting to execute a little better offensively,” coach Ken Dwyer said after the Lady Sailors fell to 4-6 overall and saw a three-game winning streak ended by perennial power Massapequa. “The timing of playing Massapequa was unfortunate,” he added. “We were coming off our best game of the year, but had nine days off and had to face one of the best teams in the county.”

Massapequa bolted to an eight-goal halftime lead in its 13-3 win at Oceanside April 27, but the Lady Sailors were more competitive in the second half and got two goals from senior Tina Pumo and one from Katherine Malavet. “The girls weren’t intimidated by Massapequa,” Dwyer said. “They play against them in several different sports. We did a better job passing and on groundballs in the second half, and hopefully we can build on it.”

Junior goalie Jessica Maxwell continued her outstanding play between the pipes with 12 saves, marking a sixth straight game she posted double digits in stops. Senior Allie Fayans, who missed the first nine contests with a broken arm following a strong 2010 campaign, saw her first action this spring and was credited with one save.

“Allie was cleared a while back but needed to get her practices in before playing,” Dwyer said. “Jessica’s been playing tremendously, which didn’t come as a surprise. It’s nice we have two excellent options in the net.”

The loss to the Lady Chiefs was Oceanside’s first since April 6. It put together a three-game winning streak, highlighted by a 12-11 overtime victory over Freeport in a non-league matchup prior to spring break. Junior Stephanie Keane scored the winner — her fourth goal of the game — with 56 seconds left in the second three-minute OT period. Junior Danielle Montano added three goals and one assist. “It was a wild game and not our best effort, but we fought back from a deficit and responded on a day where we could’ve done some things better,” Dwyer said.

It was the fourth one-goal game this spring for the Lady Sailors, who followed with a sharp 8-3 win over MacArthur. Maxwell made 19 saves, a career high, senior Andie Krefsky and junior Annie Intrabartola led the defense, and Montano (three goals) and seniors Lauren Cregeen (one goal, two assists) and Victoria DeBlase (three assists) paced the attack. “As they say, Jessica stood on her head,” Dwyer said of Maxwell. “And some of the saves should go to the defense. Andie, Annie, Courtney [Collins] and Kayla [Flynn] made Jessica’s job a little easier by forcing some bad-angle shots.” 

Whether or not Oceanside sneaks into the playoffs is likely to depend on the outcome of games against Hicksville and Syosset. “We certainly have our eye on the playoffs,” Dwyer said.