Fresh off its first-ever county championship, South Side went toe-to-toe with powerhouse Bayport-Blue Point throughout the first half of Tuesday night’s Long Island Class C girls lacrosse championship game.
The second half, however, was a different story.
Bayport scored the first four goals of the third quarter and allowed just one goal over the final 25:39 on the way to defeating the Cyclones, 10-6, before packed stands at Adelphi University. The Phantoms, winners of five of the last six Suffolk County titles, got three goals from senior Aubrie Eisfeld — all after halftime — and a pair from sophomore Olivia Brady on the way to their 18th win in 19 games and third L.I. crown in five years.
Senior Sienna Connolly had a hat trick for South Side, which led 4-2 early in the second quarter when sophomore Bobbie Creo, who had five goals in its 14-8 Nassau Class B title game victory over Wantagh, scored unassisted. The Cyclones finished 16-4.
“For quite a while it felt like a game that was going to come down to the last possession,” South Side coach Rob Devlin said. “Give Bayport credit. They had a nine-minute run that made the difference.”
Each team scored twice in the opening quarter and added three more goals in the second for a 5-5 deadlock at halftime. Bayport scored three straight (senior Emma Shanahan, junior Sara Richardt and Brady) after the Creo goal to take its first lead of the night. Sophomore Skye Kortn converted a nifty behind-the-net feed from classmate Olivia Mayerhofer with 1:21 left in the half to create the game’s fourth and final stalemate.
Phantoms coach Ryan Gick said South Side’s athleticism and season-long success on draws concerned him most entering the matchup.
“That’s a talented team over there we just beat,” Gick said. “They dominated us on draws in the first half and we challenged our kids to turn things around in that aspect and they did. Big moments you live for and our girls went right after it. Our defense was outstanding in the second half holding them to one goal.”
Bayport led for good after Eisfeld scored her first goal just 2:48 into the second half. Brady, Eisfeld and Suffolk title game standout senior Ava Meyn scored in a five-minute span to increase the lead to 9-5. The margin would’ve been greater if not for South Side junior goalie Tara Cody, who made several remarkable saves.
“I thought we did a nice job locking down Meyn and Reese [sophomore Long] had a lot to do with that,” Devlin said. “They do a real nice job in transition, particularly number 2 [Brady].”
The Cyclones got within 9-6 after three quarters after Connolly completed the hat trick, but possessions and scoring chances in the fourth were few and far between.
“I told them, ‘yes tonight sticks but tomorrow you’re going to look back and realize how much you accomplished,’” Devlin said.
