Thursday, October 1, 2026
With the calendar flipped to May, the Valley Stream girls’ lacrosse team has had a lot of time on the pitch, as well as time to reflect on its game.
Last Friday afternoon, it had an 11-0 win over Hempstead. Madeleine Castellon, Jennifer Larosiliere, Sofia Raza all notched a pair of goals each, with Rhianna Abreu, Jules Dekel, Nina Munafo, Gia Piccolo and Milania Rivera finding the back of the net once apiece. Goalie Caitlin Baptiste made 4 saves in the shutout.
Before that, Valley Stream was on the pitch against Clarke, where it felt the bitterness in a 10-2 loss. Abreu and Raza were the ones to successfully penetrate Clarke’s defense in the loss.
There have been plenty of takeaways for first-year coach Robert Tronolone and Co. He said the defense stepped up its game and was the reason why the team hung tough in games more often than not.
Tronolone highlighted Nina Munafo as one of the team’s top defenders, in addition to her pair of goals this season.
“She gets into the passing lanes and deflects a lot of balls,” he said. “She also has the ability to clear the ball and play offense for us.”
There’s also Gia Piccolo, new to the defensive corps after playing on attack for Valley Stream as a freshman. “This year she moved to defense and has been a key to our success on that end of the field,” Tronolone said.
Moreover on the defense, Tronolone shouted out both goalies, Eshal Ikram and Baptiste, saying both have kept the squad in games with their collective effort between the pipes.
Tronolone said that Abreu has been the team’s best midfielder, logging a full 40 minutes every game, crucial on both sides of the ball.
The attack mainly consists of Raza and Bella Rush, both standing out for their creative ways to sink into the back of the net.
“They can create their own shots and when we need a goal that's who we turn to,” he said.
An honorable mention was Aryana Phillips as another leader and guiding voice on the field.
The truth of the matter is Valley Stream is currently 4-7, eliminated from playoff contention. It not what you want to hear, as former New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi would say. Even though the postseason is out of the picture, that hasn’t affected the team’s daily bread, according to Tronolone.
“We're eliminated from playoff contention but that hasn't changed how we approach practices or games,” he explained. “We're still learning and getting better in practice and our girls are competitors and continue to compete and give max effort in games. We're a young team with only four seniors, so every day we practice or play we are gaining valuable experience for next season.”
The season finale is this Saturday at Memorial Junior High against Elmont at 10 a.m.
