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Overcast Oceanside wins playoff opener
Being battled tested at playoff time isn’t an issue for the Oceanside girls’ soccer team. Playing in Nassau Conference AA-I means head-to-head matchups with the likes of Farmingdale, Calhoun, Mepham, MacArthur, and 16-time county champion Massapequa.
The Lady Sailors weren’t taking their opening round opponent lightly. Herricks, the champion of Conference AA-III, came into the match with a perfect 11-0-0 record, and an offensive attack that scored 61 goals in the regular season.
Like most other sports, defense prevails in the playoffs. The Lady Sailors backline limited the visiting Highlanders to just five shots on goal, and advanced to the round of eight with a 3-0 victory last Friday. Katie Ryan’s first half goal was all the scoring No. 5 Oceanside would need.
Head coach Marianna Winchester expected No.12 Herricks to be a tough opponent. “They scored a lot, and had a couple of players with double-digit goal totals,” Winchester said. “When you don’t see a team during the regular season, you go into the game with a lot of unknowns. I just wanted our girls to play their game, and not worry so much about what the opponent was doing.”
Neither team had a decided advantage in the early going, but the Lady Sailors broke through midway through the opening half. Junior Kristen Paczkowski put a perfect lead pass on the foot of Ryan, and the senior forward beat one defender before blasting the ball past the keeper.
The Highlanders had an opportunity to even things up, but Oceanside keeper Emily Doherty made a remarkable stop on a ball that seemed destined to tie the score. Doherty earned her seventh shutout.
Winchester can’t say enough about the Temple University-bound Doherty. “Emily does everything you want from a keeper,” Winchester said. “She’s very vocal, a great communicator, and really sets the tone for the entire defense. She’s very quick and agile in the net.”
The outcome was still in doubt until freshman Julia Duffy found the back of the net late in the second half. Freshman Jules Sicker capped off the scoring with a goal in the final minute.
