Seaford seeks more growth

The Seaford girls’ lacrosse team embarked on its new season without a familiar face.

Longtime Lady Vikings’ head coach Kurt Dankenbrink, who founded Seaford High School’s girls lacrosse program in 1999, is taking a year off due to a medical condition his wife is battling. Former Bethpage girls lacrosse head coach Tim Brace has taken over coaching duties for the 2018 campaign and is trying to continue with the foundation built by Dankenbrink.

“There is no need to reinvent the wheel,” said Brace, who inherits a team that finished 9-6 last season after jumping up from Conference IV to Conference II. “The girls have been great.”

The Lady Vikings (3-0) have a thin roster of just 19, but boast plenty of scoring threats led by senior Jaclyn Grezlaczyk and her twin sister Katelyn, who tallied five and three goals, respectively, in Seaford’s season-opening 18-5 non-league win against Our Lady of Mercy. Junior midfielder Gina Toscano, who also registered five goals in the opening victory, is another big focal point of the offense along with attackers Caitlyn Costello, Grace Pupke and Vayna Ruano.

“Jaclyn will get a lot of focus and that will open it up for others,” Brace said. “I’m hoping we have a very balanced offense.”

Junior goalie Britney Sirota is off to a solid start in her first season behind the net with 11 and 10 saves, respectively, during Seaford’s 10-7 win against Plainedge and 11-7 victory over Lynbrook last week. She has an experienced defense in front of her featuring seniors Lilly Kolodinsky, Melanie Cascio, Julia Siler along with junior Katrina Michels.

“It helps a lot when have experienced seniors on defense,” Brace said. “They are stellar athletes.”

The Grezlaczyk sisters and Kolodinsky lead the Lady Vikings on and off the field as tri-captains. The trio will play on the collegiate level next year with Jaclyn Grezlaczyk committed to NYIT, Katelyn Grezlaczyk headed to Mercy and Kolodinsky bound for Adelphi.

Seaford is getting an additional boost on the sidelines this year from assistant coach Emily Palermo, a former Lady Vikings standout who played at Kutztown University. Her younger sister, Ally Palermo, graduated Seaford last year and now plays for national powerhouse Northwestern.

“She has been terrific,” said Brace of his assistant coach. “She communicates very well with the girls.”

Seaford faces stiff competition in Conference II, which features Farmingdale, Lynbrook, Plainedge, South Side, Locust Valley, Carle Place, Oyster Bay, Division and Calhoun. For the playoffs, Seaford will face a tough task in Class C with defending champion Wantagh and Cold Spring Harbor in the bracket, but Brace is focusing the team game-to-game rather then thinking about May.

“Our goal is to get better every day,” Brace said. “They are working hard.”

After a spring break layoff, Seaford returns to the field next Monday at home against Division starting at 4:45 p.m. It will host Bethpage on April 13 for a 4:30 p.m. opening draw.