Lady Owls gain playoffs

After winning just two of its first eight games, Lynbrook’s girls’ lacrosse team got things moving in the right direction down the stretch and ended up earning a home game in the Nassau Class B playoff tournament.

In an odd scheduling quirk, the regular-season finale between the Lady Owls and Division decided which team would host the first-round playoff matchup between the two. “According to what I had figured, it was almost a sure thing we were playing them in the first round,” Lynbrook coach Vinny Tetro said. “It was just a matter of which team would be the eighth seed and home. We played to win, but we didn’t show our normal defense in the last regular-season game.”

With the defense out of sorts a bit by design, sophomore goaltender Sarah Chyriwski sparkled with 18 saves and the Lady Owls pulled out a 10-9 squeaker on May 10. Four days later, they overcame two key injuries and beat Division in overtime, 9-7, with the season on the line.

“There are no easy games in our conference, but we played Garden City, Wantagh and Manhasset, three of the best teams in the county, within our first eight games,” Tetro said. “I knew all along we were capable of good things.”

Although Garden City would end Lynbrook’s season for a second straight year in the quarterfinals, getting to the playoffs after a slow start and winning a playoff game stamped 2012 as a success, Tetro said. “We turned things around starting with Calhoun,” Tetro said of the team’s 11-6 win over the Lady Colts on April 26. “Our passing was excellent and everything was working that day.”

The win over Calhoun was the first of back-to-back four-goal games for sophomore attack Chandley Borges, one of Lynbrook’s four All-Conference selections. Her 20th goal of the season came with 1:22 remaining in the second three-minute overtime period of the playoff win and provided the final margin.

The Lady Owls (6-9 overall) held a 6-1 halftime lead in the playoff opener but Division took advantage of the absence of midfielders Carrie Feltkamp and Olivia Cohn in the second half to force OT. Feltkamp, a senior All-County selection who led the team with 30 goals, scored twice in the first half but was forced to sit out the second half due to injury, and Cohn went down with a knee injury 10 minutes into the game.

“The whole complexion of the game changed with Carrie out,” Tetro said. “We did our best to make up for her and Olivia. Kasey [Carter] switched positions and Ciara [Gordon] did a tremendous job filling in.”

Carter, a senior, had three goals to give her 29 on the year. She earned All-Conference honors along with senior Marykate Regan, who scored the game-winning goal with 32 seconds left in the first OT, and senior Adirenne Germanakos, who had two assists. Chyriwski made 10 saves.