West Hempstead on right track

Losing by a goal in overtime to close out a season is never enjoyable, but it certainly was a fitting end for the West Hempstead girls’ lacrosse team. Malverne/East Rockaway’s Sydney Johnson scored the game-winning goal with 49 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Rockin’ Mules a 10-9 victory over the Rams. 

West Hempstead had four conference games decided by a single goal, including three of its last four contests. Senior Katie Lynch, Nina Boria, and Melissa Kosick each had a pair of goals for West Hempstead, which rallied back from a 9-6 deficit to force overtime. Taylor Cussen scored four goals and added an assist to lead Malverne/East Rockaway.

Despite finishing with a 2-5 record in league play, West Hempstead coach Tracy Hutt was pleased with the team’s progress. “Losing all those games by one goal was a big improvement over last season,” Hutt said. “The league was very balanced from top to bottom. There were very few blowouts. We’re definitely on the right track.”

One of the real bright spots for West Hempstead was the play in goal. Freshman Taryn Squiciarino was strong in her first year in net. Squiciarino had 12 saves in her first varsity start in a 7-6 loss to a talented Carey team. Hutt thinks her young goalie has a bright future. “For an underclassman, she did a terrific job at communicating, leading, and setting the defense,” Hutt said. “She has very good field sense, reads plays well, and should only get better.”

Squiciarino had a solid pair on defense in front of her. Junior Kelly Walsh and senior Kim Velazquez were defensive standouts for the Rams. 

Erin Guerrero should be West Hempstead’s go-to girl in 2012. The junior had a team-high 29 goals. In a late season 14-13 victory over Great Neck North, Guerrero scored a career-high 10 goals including the game winner with just 33 seconds remaining. Freshmen Taylor Freiermuth and Angelique Jabouin both have tremendous upside on the lacrosse field at West Hempstead.

Senior Ashley Merrill, an All-Conference honoree, scored 23 goals on the season. Merrill had a pair of five-goal efforts on the season, but finding the back of the net was only part of her game. 

“Ashley was more than just a goal scorer for us,” Hutt said. “She’s a terrific all-around lacrosse player. She sees the field well and finds open teammates. She really came on as an offensive player this year.”

Lynch, who hopes to play at the college level, had 13 goals on the season including three in a 13-9 win over Great Neck North.

Despite having no junior varsity program, Hutt is optimistic about the future. “Hopefully, we’ll get the girls in the gym more often for training and intramurals,” Hutt said. “Some of the girls have only been playing for a couple years.  We just need them to have a stick in their hands year round. We’re doing fairly well with what we have.”