Back-to-back wins for Lady Eagles

After a tough start, Valley Stream Central’s girls’ soccer team got things moving in the right direction last week with back-to-back victories over Nassau Conference III rivals Kennedy and Elmont.

Junior Jenna Costanzo’s rebound goal with 12 minutes remaining snapped a tie with Kennedy on Sept. 20 and gave the Lady Eagles a 2-1 road win, and they followed two days later with a 9-1 rout of Elmont behind a four-goal effort by junior Shanice Robe.

“Beating Kennedy boosted our confidence,” VSC coach Mike Caputo said. “We didn’t click in our scrimmage against Jericho and fell apart a little in the conference opener against Calhoun, but our chemistry is improving more and more every day.”

The Lady Cougars outshot Central by a 2-1 margin, but the defense didn’t break and junior goalkeeper Christine Rivera made 15 saves to pick up her first career win. “Our goalie and defense played a phenomenal game,” Caputo said. “Christine is a top athlete. We didn’t have a goalie coming into the season after last year’s starter and backup graduated. She has really stepped up to fill the position.”

Robe opened the scoring 15 minutes into the second half on a breakaway. Krista Trinidad got the equalizer less than five minutes for the Lady Cougars, but they couldn’t get anything past Rivera thereafter. 

Robe, who starts at forward along with eighth-grader Gabrielle Mendoza, came back with four goals against Elmont. “Shanice does it all,” Caputo said. “She has tremendous stride and skills. We want to get the ball to her as much as possible.”

Leading Central’s defense is junior sweeper Nicole Riggio, a player the coach described as the unit’s “backbone.” With senior stopper Silvana Mejia still out with an ankle injury, freshman Callie Demas filled in nicely last week. Juniors Nicole Campbell and Caitlin Adams, and senior Katelyn Babiscko are logging the majority of minutes at fullback.

The midfield features senior Nicole Mercado and eighth-grader Priscilla Bell, who had two goals against Elmont. Mercado serves as captain and is counted on to provide steady play and constant leadership. “Nicole’s our leader on and off the field,” Captuo said.

The Lady Eagles, who split their first four conference games, are back in action Friday at Baldwin at 4:30 p.m.

“It’s a great group of girls,” Caputo said. “I just want them to keep working hard and trying their best.”