Long Beach reaches semis

While unable to reach the Nassau County girls lacrosse Class B finals for a second straight year, Long Beach still made plenty of waves in 2018.

A season filled with highs and lows finished with a 12-4 semifinal loss to Garden City on May 24 at Adelphi’s Motamed Field. The Lady Marines, who won four of their first six games before closing the regular season with three straight losses, reached at least the semifinals stage for a third straight year with a 17-6 quarterfinal win against Elmont.

“It was a season of ups and downs,” Long Beach head coach Rachel Ray said. “We fell a little short of our goal, but we were young and still accomplished a lot.”

One of Long Beach’s major strides this spring was the program’s first ever win against county power Wantagh by a 4-3 score on March 27. The Lady Marines tackled a grueling Conference I schedule and earned a three-seed for the playoffs where a high-powered Garden City squad proved too much in the semifinals despite 14 saves from senior goalie Sarah Reznick.

“It was definitely a disappointment not making it to the finals again,” Ray said.

The Garden City loss capped Reznick’s dynamic six-year goaltending career at Long Beach in which she achieved All-American honors and was a four-time All-County selection. The University of Florida commit kept Long Beach competitive in games against Long Island’s top teams including a 10-6 loss to Rocky Point on April 3 in which she recorded nine stops.

“She definitely brought us to a higher level of play,” said Ray of Reznick, who was ranked third in Inside Lacrosse’s Young Gun Senior Rankings last September. “She put us on the map as a contender in Class B.”

Senior attacker Emma Pfaff also graduates after a stellar final high school season. The Boston University-bound Pfaff, who earned Honorable mention All-County honors, tallied three goals and one assist in Long Beach’s playoff win against Elmont.

“She was so dominant,” said Ray of Pfaff. “Her dodge is really, really hard to stop.”

Junior Lexie Correia took her game to a higher level this season as a two-way player and will be counted on to help lead the Marines in 2019. The Bryant University-bound midfielder was a force in the draw control circle and scored all four of Long Beach’s goals in the semifinals.

“She is our biggest finisher,” said Ray of Correia, who received All-County accolades. “She is the whole package.”

Junior defender Daisy Willard, a Binghamton University commit, garnered All-County honors while junior midfielders Hannah Lewis (Drexel) and Jillian Canner (Colby) were both named honorable mention All-County. Sophomore attacker Maggie Reznick (USC) and junior midfielder Fiona Rafferty also emerged this spring to earn All-Conference honors. Seventh graders Delaney Radin and Keira Bauer showed promise for Long Beach’s future during their first varsity seasons.

“Now the girls have the experience of playing at a high level,” Ray said. “We have raised the bar as a program and have high expectations.”