Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Wantagh entered the Nassau Class A girls’ soccer playoffs riding a five-game winning streak and bursting with confidence.
And on Thursday evening, the Warriors made history by capturing their first-ever county championship with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded North Shore, which defeated them twice during the regular season, at Farmingdale State College.
Sophomore Kayla Mannix continued a storybook postseason by netting the lone goal of the night in the 65th minute off a feed from junior Shannon Udell. Junior goalkeeper Gabriella Astaiza, who missed a large portion of the campaign due to injury, made five saves to shutout a talented Vikings’ team that totaled six goals against Wantagh in two previous meetings.
“What a feeling,” Warriors coach James Polo said. “It’s a resilient group of girls and I’m so proud of them. Some of them won a county championship in lacrosse last spring and they know what it takes. I thought we played an unbelievable second half tonight. We just kept pushing and pushing.”
Third-seeded Wantagh, which defeated No. 6 Wheatley 2-1 in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Seaford, 2-1 in overtime in the semis, advances to play Shoreham-Wading River in Sunday’s Long Island Class A championship/Southeast Regional Final at Farmingdale State at 3 p.m.
North Shore scored 13 goals in a pair of playoff wins but couldn’t find the back of the net in the title game as it was seeking its first county championship since 2017. The Vikings finished 11-6-2 and took the Conference AB-1 crown.
“It’s a great group of girls who accomplished a lot this season,” North Shore coach Lauren Gotta said. “They were determined to make it further than last year. They won the conference title and ended as county finalists. I’m super proud of how far they’ve come.”
Mannix, who assisted on junior Delaney Conlon’s OT goal against Seaford Nov. 2, was given a breather by Polo midway through the second half in the county final and drilled the championship-winning shot from about 15 yards out after settling a pass from Udell. Both Mannix and Udell scored in the playoff-opening win over Wheatley.
“I shot it as hard as I could,” Mannix said. “I knew it had a chance and when it went in, it was amazing.”
Polo said Mannix was ripping shots in practice all week and had a feeling she could provide the difference. “Kayla was in a groove in practice for a few days and I thought if we can get her some space, she could get one tonight,” he said. “The goal was just awesome.”
North Shore, which eliminated No. 8 Mineola, 8-2, behind freshman Giovanna Corridan’s hat trick, and fifth-seeded Floral Park, 5-3, behind senior Sam DiBenedetto’s hat trick, got nine saves from sophomore goalkeeper Charlie Healey but was unable to solve a Wantagh defense led by seniors Gianna Paccione, Juliana Cerasi and Brianna Henriquez, junior Katelyn Baudo and sophomore Ava Barberio.
Conlon said having Astaiza back in goal gave the Warriors (12-4-1) even more confidence heading into the playoffs. Sophomore Ella Perfetti was tremendous filling in for Astaiza and allowed only four goals on 42 shots during the win streak that now stands at eight.
“This was the first time we beat North Shore in five games,” said Conlon, noting three defeats and one draw dating back to 2023. “At the start of the season we felt this could be our year. This is what we wanted to accomplish and it feels really good.”
