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Light Drizzle Lady Cyclones regain county title
There was no denying South Side this time.
A year after falling short against Garden City in the Nassau County Class A girls’ soccer championship game on penalty kicks, the Lady Cyclones made sure things didn’t get that far in Tuesday evening’s title rematch at Mitchel Athletic Complex.
Sophomore Juliana Klaum turned a long free kick by senior Kayla Hospodka from sailing out of bounds into the game-winning assist when sophomore Alexandra McNicholas redirected the ball passed Garden City goalkeeper Caroline Peppard with 5:48 remaining to give South Side a thrilling 1-0 victory.
“I knew after Kayla hit the ball it was going to be a good opportunity,” McNicholas said. “Juliana always works hard and made a great play to get the ball into the box. I just wanted to get a foot on it. Once it went in, I knew we’d hold on to win.”
South Side (13-3-1 overall) captured its 26th county championship dating back to 1984 and will play the Suffolk County champion — Sayville or Shoreham-Wading River — for the Long Island Class A crown this Saturday at 5 p.m. at Dowling Sports Complex.
“The way last year ended, there was no way we were going to let that happen again,” Klaum said.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kayla Klarides made 10 saves for the top-seeded Lady Cyclones, who outscored their four playoff opponents by a combined 18-1. “It feels amazing,” coach Shannon McEntee said. “It was such an intense and well-played game.”
The longtime rivals split 1-0 decisions during the regular season, and there was no shortage of scoring chances before McNicholas’ heroics. The best chance for either team prior to the goal came with 12:30 left when third-seeded Garden City’s leading scorer, Lauren Miesemer, drilled a shot off the crossbar. “That was close,” McEntee said. “I think that gave us a little push.”
Hospodka, Rebecca Buchman, Tessa Considine and Katherine Parker led the defensive effort in front of Klarides, who made six saves in a 6-0 victory over Plainedge in the semifinals on Oct. 31, and also posted a 6-0 shutout win over Floral Park in the first round a week earlier.
Senior Keri Cavallo starred in the semis with two goals and three assists, while McNicholas and senior Stephanie Leonardo chipped in two goals apiece. Cavallo and Klaum both scored twice in a 5-1 victory over North Shore in the quarterfinals on Oct. 28.
“We’ve got a determined group,” McEntee said. “We’re going full-steam ahead against whichever team wins Suffolk.”
