Lady Marines stay on course
Part of three-team race for conference title
Long Beach strengthened its hold on a spot in the Nassau Class A girls’ lacrosse playoffs and remained in contention for the Conference A-II title with last Friday’s 19-6 victory over Valley Stream District at Firemen’s Field.
Senior Emily McLoughlin scored six goals and freshman Liz Rourke added three goals and two assists as the Lady Marines upped their record to 7-3 overall and remained in a first-place tie with East Meadow and MacArthur. Junior Melissa Rubin and freshman Hope Henry chipped in two goals apiece, and sophomore goalie Elyse Stark made 11 saves. Catherine Powell and Nicole Montana each scored twice for Valley Stream, which lost its eighth in a row.
“Every conference win is big for us,” Long Beach coach Rachel Ray said. “They definitely beat us on groundballs. We’re getting used to playing on turf and this game makes me want to practice more on grass.”
It was the first time the Lady Marines were in action in more than a week. They were coming off their best effort of the season, Ray said, a 9-8 non-league home win over Locust Valley on April 20. The game-winning goal came off the stick of Rubin with 1:02 remaining. McLoughlin scored five and Stark was especially sharp between the pipes with 18 saves.
“Elyse made a lot of big stops,” Ray said of Stark, who has started all 10 games behind a defense led by Molly Martin, Hayley Kosiner, Emma Cohen and Kirsten Horvath. “She’s been very consistent.”
Rubin’s goal came a little more than two minutes after Bairre Reilly tied it for Locust Valley. “Melissa’s a gamer,” Ray said. “She’s one of our middies who flies up and down the field and doesn’t come off.”
Long Beach enjoyed a three-game winning streak between April 8-14 that saw the offense produce 44 goals. Four players — McLoughlin, Cohen, Rebecca Idson and eighth-grader Hannah Sofield — scored twice against Hempstead, McLoughlin (four) and Rourke combined for seven goals at Hericks, and senior Jillian Piazza totaled five points (three goals, two assists) versus Hicksville.
“I think we’re where we want to be at this point,” Ray said. “We haven’t played East Meadow or MacArthur yet, and everyone knows how big those games will be. Winning a conference championship is our goal and we need to win those games to make it happen.”
Of the key showdowns remaining, one is away and the other’s on the turf at L.B. Middle School. Long Beach goes to East Meadow Thursday for a 4:30 p.m. faceoff and hosts MacArthur in the regular-season finale May 10 at 4:45 p.m.
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