Lady Cyclones challenged early

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The freight train that’s South Side’s girls’ soccer program took a slight detour last fall when the Lady Cyclones (16-2-1), riding back-to-back state titles, were beaten by Garden City on penalty kicks in the Nassau County Class A championship game.

Despite graduating 12 players, South Side coach Shannon McEntee believes more good things are in store for 2014. “The girls on this team always have such a special bond with each other,” she said. “Losing 12 of them is tough, but we had a strong junior class last year and we’re counting on them as seniors. Most of them will play in college as well.”

The Lady Cyclones couldn’t have faced a more challenging schedule out of the gate. They opened with a 1-0 victory over Sacred Heart, battled St. John The Baptist to a 2-2 draw, lost 1-0 to Massapequa, and kicked off the Conference AB-1 schedule by beating Garden City, 1-0, on Sept. 18.

“We tried some different combinations in the non-league games,” McEntee said. “Each was a nice challenge against a quality opponent.”

Senior midfielder Stephanie Leonardo, in her third season with South Side and fifth varsity soccer campaign overall after playing two years in Sachem, netted the Lady Cyclones’ first goal of 2014 when she converted a pass from Alexandra McNicholas, one of a dozen sophomores on the roster, to beat Sacred Heart on Sept. 5.

McEntee said McNicholas, who is fast and tall, is capable of creating chaos up front along with senior standout Keri Cavallo. Bound for Yale, Cavallo is a two-time All-Long Island selection and last year was a Regional All-American after scoring 12 goals. After registering a goal and an assist against St. John The Baptist, she has 34 career goals and 22 career assists. “Keri’s got incredible vision and endurance,” McEntee said. “She constantly works to create opportunities for herself and others.”

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