Lady Cyclones fall in semis

Upstart South Side gave six-time defending Nassau Class B girls’ lacrosse champion Garden City a run for its money during the regular season and was one of just two opponents to hold a halftime lead against the top-ranked Lady Trojans.

But with a berth in the county final on the line May 25, the fourth-seeded Lady Cyclones were a step behind the perennial powerhouse. Garden City orchestrated a pair of five-goal spurts in the first half and cruised to a 16-7 semifinal playoff victory at Tully Park in New Hyde Park.

Senior Caroline Tarzian scored four goals and assisted on three others and classmate Mikaela Rix had three goals and three assists and dominated faceoffs to lead the Lady Trojans (17-0) into the title game against No. 3 Manhasset. For South Side (10-5), sophomore Micheala Lynch had a hat trick, senior Jackie Cifarelli added two goals and an assist, and senior goalie Kelsey Gregerson had a dozen saves.

“They were quicker and better,” South Side coach Meaghan Healey said. “They’ve been on a tear ever since we gave them a scare at our place last month. I think we lit a fire under them.”

Lynch scored at 2:29 to give the Lady Cyclones their only lead, which lasted 40 seconds. Junior Jenna Fuchs answered for Garden City, and Tarzian followed 17 seconds later to put it ahead for good. It was 5-1 less than five minutes in and 10-2 at halftime.

“I think the biggest difference between today and the first time we played was our patience,” Lady Trojans coach Diane Chapman said. “When you’re facing a top goalie like Gregerson, you don’t want to force shots. We settled and passed the ball better and took what the defense gave us.”

Rix and Tarzian scored early in the second half, which featured some running time with difference at 10 goals or more. Cifarelli (twice), Lynch and seniors Emily Considine and Brianna McNally netted second-half goals for South Side, which knocked off Plainedge 15-9 in the quarterfinal round May 19.

“We played well to start the playoffs and came into this game with confidence,” Healey said. “We had a good run. I’m very proud of them. We did things as a program this year we hadn’t done before.”

Lynch’s career-high six goals and sophomore Liz Hoeffner’s four led the way past No. 5 Plainedge in the quarterfinals. They were two of six Lady Cyclones to score at least 10 times in 2011. Cifarelli set the pace with 45 goals. Lynch had 44, Considine 24, Hoeffner 20, junior Grace Healey 15, and McNally 10.