Seaford repeat bid ends in overtime

A year after winning the program's first county title in overtime, the Seaford girls’ soccer team experienced the other end of the heartbreak spectrum.

The Vikings’ bid for a repeat championship fell just short when Plainedge’s Madison Wade scored 3:06 into overtime on a rebound off a free kick for a 2-1 in the Nassau County Class A finals  on Halloween evening. Seaford had reached the championship stage in a higher conference as the four seed a season removed from winning county and Long Island titles in Class B, both in overtime. 

“It’s a very disappointing ending, but overall I am very happy to get back to the country final in a higher class against much stiffer competition,” ninth-year Seaford coach Ken Botti. “We knew we had a talented team and we knew if we kept making adjustments and kept working and getting better that if we peaked at the right time that we could make a run at it.”

The Class A championship began with adversity for Seaford when Plainedge scored just 93 seconds into the match on a corner kick goal from Jessica Faranda for a 1-0 lead. 

Seaford refocused after surrendering the early goal to generate a number of scoring chances. The Vikings were finally rewarded when Arianna Garcia tied the match on a free kick from around 40 yards away with 12:57 remaining in the second half. Plainedge goalkeeper Demetra Sideridis initially appeared to make the save but was ruled to be standing in the net. 

The finals appearance was preceded by a 3-1 semifinal victory at neighborhood rival Wantagh on Oct. 28 that featured three goals from sophomore striker Kaylie Conklin and 11 saves by junior goalie Joanna Bello. The match underscored Seaford’s late season progress after falling to the Warriors 3-0 on Sept. 27 followed by a 0-0 tie on Oct. 17.

“For the third contest we knew we had to put our best foot forward and we really had to get after them and be aggressive,” Botti said. “We knew we had to start early and we did as we scored the first goal in the middle of the first half and then 30 seconds later Kaylee put number two in.”

The run to the county finals for a straight year marks the latest step in Seaford’s turnaround implemented by Botti, who in 2019 led the program to its first playoff appearance since 2011. Botti will graduate two seniors instrumental in lifting the Viking to new heights in co-captains Amanda Williamson and Garcia, who were both four-year varsity players that anchored a defense which registered nine shutouts this fall. 

Looking ahead to 2024, Seaford will return sophomore midfielder Ally Cullingford, who missed this season due to an injury after she recorded eight goals as a freshman. Her younger sister, eighth grader, Grace Cullingford, stepped up to help fill the void in the center midfielder role and improved as the season progressed. 

“I think we're going to be one of the favorites in Conference I next year,” Botti said. “Unfortunately the season is so far away and I would start tomorrow if I could.”