Lady Eagles enjoy winning season

Valley Stream Central enjoyed a strong season on the soccer field, finishing in second place in Nassau Conference AA-III with a record of 7-2-1, and coach Mike Caputo believes more good things are to come for the Lady Eagles.

“We’ve got a pretty young group already and some girls coming up from the JV that’ll help us next year,” Caputo said. “One thing we have going for us is a bunch of the girls are on the same club team outside of school, so they have a strong bond.”

Three freshmen were regulars in the starting lineup and contributed in a big way. Yasmine Shaukat (four goals) and Jennifer Oliva (two goals, two assists) played midfield, and Nataly Aguirre, a returning starter, switched to forward from fullback.

Shaukat has developed a knack for scoring big goals, including a late tally to earn Central a 3-3 tie with Uniondale. “She’s cool, calm and collected,” Caputo said. “She moves the ball to the outside really well, and advances it well. She’s going to get physically stronger as she grows and become that much better when she does.”

Olivia’s speed and nose for the ball makes her a natural for an outside midfield spot, while Aguirre is probably the fastest player on the team, Caputo said. “Nataly is really fast and has great skills to go with her speed,” Caputo said. “She played defense last year, but she’s versatile enough to play anywhere and do a great job.”

Newcomer Devin Baratto, a transfer, began the year at stopper but like Aguirre was moved to forward. A sophomore, Baratto registered four goals and one assist, with two of her goals coming in a win over Freeport. “Devin’s a really strong player who can boot the ball from one end of the field to the other,” Caputo said. “She’s another one with speed, so I wanted her up front.”

Junior Lucia Cicchetti gave the offense a spark off the bench and scored some blue-collar goals thanks to her work ethic. “She always works hard and comes up with some gritty goals,” Caputo said of the four-goal scorer.

Sophomore Gabrielle Mendoza led the Lady Eagles in the scoring column with six goals and one assist. She had their only hat trick of the season when she found the net three times in an easy victory over Hempstead. She’s another key to the midfield along with senior captain Helen Quiroz (two goals) and Priscilla Bell (one.)

Defensively, junior captain Kallie Demas set the tone at sweeper. “She’s our biggest leader and a smart player,” said Caputo, who added junior Nicole Borman and sophomore Jasmine Garden also played well in the back.

In goal, junior Tatyana Gregory made strides from a year ago and finished with 55 saves and three shutouts. “She’s still learning the position, but is our lacrosse team goalie and a talented athlete,” Caputo said.