Lady Marines achieving goals

Goals are coming by the dozen for Long Beach’s girls’ lacrosse team.

Freshman Jillian Piazza scored six times, junior Emily McLoughlin had a hat trick and junior Kadee Medrano added a pair of goals to lead it to a 12-8 victory over Seaford at L.B. Middle School on May 5.

“Jillian had a great day,” coach Rachel Ray said. “Seaford focused on stopping Emily and Megan [Gallagher] and pressured us behind the cage. They’re unselfish players who make everyone else around them better.”

Gallagher, who will graduate next month as the program’s all-time scoring leader, contributed a goal and an assist as Long Beach scored 12 times for a second straight game. It beat East Meadow by a three-goal margin on April 29 with Gallagher getting three goals and an assist. “Megan’s play is off the charts,” Ray said. “Her transition to midfield from attack has been dynamic. It was tough at first, but she made it look easy once she got used to running up and down the field.”

In addition to Gallagher and Medrano, the midfield is deep and full of youth. Sophomores Patricia Murphy and Aileen Dennis each scored twice against East Meadow, while eighth-grader Liz Rourke, recently elevated to the varsity, has chipped in a handful of goals, including two in a 10-8 win over Bethpage in Tuesday’s regular-season finale, along with face-off success.

A captain along with Gallagher, McLoughlin is another versatile playmaker with the ability to finish around the net as well as create chances for others. “I’m glad she’s on our side,” Ray said of McLaughlin, who had four goals and one assist against East Meadow and plays attack with Piazza and junior Danielle Danoski. “She attracts defenders and has vision like a point guard on a basketball court. She’s a step ahead of everyone else.”

Defensively, Ray implemented a zone scheme that requires everyone to be on the same page for it to be successful. That's been the case more often than not. In all but one of its six wins, Long Beach has allowed fewer than 10 goals. "The defenders are doing a good job communicating with each other," Ray said.

Senior Gillian Knauer serves as the glue on defense and is the team's go-to player on clears, Ray said. Sophomore Lila Martz and freshmen Molly Martin and Hayley Kosiner are also major contributors in front of junior goalie Alexandra Kaplan, who stood out against East Meadow with seven saves. Martin acts like a midfielder at times, flying from one end of the field to the other to ignite the transition game.

With the Class A playoffs set to begin May 19, Ray wouldn't mind if the Lady Marines (9-5 overall, 7-4 in Conference III) are pitted against an opponent that got the best of them during the regular season. "I think we'd play with more of an edge if it's against a team that beat us already," she said.