Lady Bruins piling up wins

Nicole Lein participated in some exciting games as a lacrosse player at Baldwin and Adelphi, and on April 12 she got to experience a thriller from a coaching perspective when the Lady Bruins outlasted East Meadow in overtime, 14-12.

“It’s fun to be in close games, but it was also nerve-racking,” Lein said. “East Meadow was ranked four spots ahead of us, so it was a big win.”

After senior Shakoya Smith pulled Baldwin even at 11 with just 40 seconds left in regulation, senior Brianna Nozdrovicky provided the overtime heroics. Nozdrovicky converted a pass from sophomore Allie Rodgers (four goals, two assists) for the eventual winning goal 1:08 into the first overtime period and added an insurance tally in the second OT. Sophomore Nicole Markowitz opened the scoring in overtime.

“Shakoya is someone we look to for go-to goals and I was happy to see her come through in such a crucial moment,” Lein said of Smith, who along with Nozdrovicky had three goals and one assist. 

East Meadow got five goals from Danielle O’Leary and a huge effort in the cage from goalie Vanessa DePasquale, who made 20 saves. “Their goalie was outstanding,” said Lein, “as was Caroline [Winters] for us.”

Winters made 11 saves in the contest and came back two days later with what Lein called her best game of the season, a 12-save performance in a 9-4 win under the lights at Island Trees. “Caroline has been solid and I’m grateful to have a strong defense in front of her,” Lein said. “We had a lot of calls go against us against Island Trees and she stepped up to stop all but one of their free position shots.”

Four players are logging the lion’s share of minutes on defense: senior Olivia Antonopoulos, Markowitz and her eighth-grade sister, Jessica, and freshman Amanda Clemens. Baldwin (5-2) held four of its first seven opponents to four goals or fewer.

Offensively, Rodgers has been filling the score sheet with regularity. She had five-goal games against Island Trees and Bethpage, while fellow sophomore midfielder Nicole Gardianos netted four to lead wins over Bellmore-JFK and Lynbrook. “Allie and Nicole are excellent coast-to-coast,” Lein said. “They lead us in transition.”

If not for a minor hiccup against Long Beach, which is coached by Lein’s former teammate and roommate at Adelphi, Rachel Ray, the Lady Bruins would be perfect through seven games. “The girls didn’t like the taste of losing, and they don’t want to feel that way again,” Lein said. 

Though ranked seven out of nine teams in the preseason, Baldwin appears to have what it takes to make a run at the Conference III title. The road ahead is challenging with Port Washington, Seaford and Locust Valley remaining on the schedule. “Our girls are aware of how other teams are doing and want to prove they can play with anyone,” Lein said.