Lady Cyclones are title contenders

South Side’s girls’ lacrosse team has shown no ill effects of letting a two-goal halftime lead slip away against mighty Garden City, responding with three consecutive non-league victories and scoring 46 goals in the process.

The Lady Cyclones won a local showdown of sorts against Kellenberg last Thursday at Skelos Sports Complex, 16-12, behind four goals apiece from senior Jackie Cifarelli and sophomore Michaela Lynch, and 15 saves from senior goaltender Kelsey Gregerson.

“The girls believe in each other and believe they can beat the top teams,” coach Meghan Healey said after South Side improved to 8-2. “We’re really playing well and have as much of a chance as anyone to win the county.”

With their second double-digit scoring half of the season, the Lady Cyclones built a seemingly comfortable 10-4 lead against Kellenberg but had it quickly evaporate. The Firebirds (7-5), who got six goals from Emily Hanifan and two goals and four assists from Sarah Croutier, opened the second half with four straight goals and forced Healey to call timeout.

“We were a little slow getting back on defense and lost a few faceoffs,” Healey said about the sluggish start to the second half. “We needed a timeout to settle down, and we were able to get back to doing what we were doing in the first half.”

Cifarelli, who added three assists, Lynch, Grace Healey (two goals, three assists) and Leah Beaudet (two goals) got South Side’s offense clicking again and it put six more shots past Kellenberg goalie Taylor Hayes, who had 13 saves. 

“We’ve become more patient on offense,” coach Healey said. “We saw results right away in the Garden City game.”

The Lady Cyclones led Garden City, the six-time defending Nassau and Long Island Class B champions, 5-3 at halftime April 12 but couldn’t pull off the upset. The Lady Trojans scored three times in the first 4:30 of the second half to take the lead for good and went on to a 10-7 win. “Even though we lost, we gained a lot of confidence,” Healey said. “They were two steps ahead of us in the second half and got three quick goals. Kelsey was all over the place and kept it close, but their defense held us down.”

Cifarelli (four) and Lynch, both midfielders, combined for six goals in the defeat and came back eight days later to score six and four, respectively, in a 14-13 upset win over North Shore. They also combined for five goals in a 16-5 win over Mineola. Their speed and ability to run the field from end to end has created a myriad of problems for the competition.

Cifarelli set up the winning goal against North Shore, which led 11-8 early in the second half. Junior Kendall Gough, who spearheads the defense along with senior Dana Ahern, was the unlikely offensive hero with six seconds remaining when she snuck into the crease and converted a feed from a double-teamed Cifarelli. “Their defense assumed Jackie was going to do a crease roll and take the last shot,” Healey said. “Once she got doubled, she looked up and found Kendall.”