By TONY BELLISSIMO
It happened twice in a four-day span at the Town of North Hempstead Park when South Side won back-to-back overtime games to claim a 12th straight girls' soccer county championship.
Senior Liz Monfort provided the heroics on both occasions. Her goal 52 seconds into the third overtime period off a pass from sophomore Jackie Cifarelli gave the Lady Cyclones a 3-2 victory over Island Trees in the Nassau Class A final on Tuesday night. In Saturday's semifinal, Monfort converted a rebound with 16 seconds left in double overtime to eliminate New Hyde Park, 1-0.
"I'm thrilled for the girls," coach Judi Croutier said after the championship victory. "They work hard and play hard."
Trailing Island Trees 1-0, Cifarelli got the equalizer 5:23 into the second half off a pass from junior Jackie Bellando. Senior Jenna DiIorio then gave South Side the lead nine minutes later when she redirected senior Jessica Baccaglini's direct kick. The Lady Bulldogs made it 2-2 with a little more than 12 minutes left in regulation on a goal by Ashley Moore.
"Our character grew as the season unfolded," Croutier said. "I think all the tough games we had during the regular season has helped us persevere in the playoffs."
Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Lopresti was sensational against New Hyde Park, making 19 saves. Senior Traci Baydala was credited with the assist on Monfort's semifinal-winning goal. "I felt we were going to score eventually," Monfort said. "Both teams had a lot of chances. It feels great."
South Side (8-3-5 overall), which faces either Islip or Sayville for the Long Island championship on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Dowling Sports Complex, won the county title without two marquee players. Junior Crystal Dunn is in New Zealand until with the United States Under-17 women's World Cup team and junior Carly Beyar has missed the last three playoff games with a knee injury. "Playoffs are a different ballgame," Croutier said. "We've got a pretty young team and it was great to see us find a way to win. The girls fought hard for more than 100 minutes against a very good team. Our defense did a great job and Lauren made some tremendous saves."
A defense led by Baccaglini, junior Emily Slome and freshman Julie Beyar was kept busy throughout by New Hyde Park's Shannon Kearney, Stacey Wood and Nicole Daly. Lopresti, who posted her fourth shutout in the last six games dating back to a scoreless tie with Conference I rival East Meadow on Oct. 14, made her toughest save in overtime off Wood with 4:25 left in the second extra period. "We were working real hard out there and I was confident we'd score," said Lopresti, who was quick to credit the defense. "It was a great game."
South Side outscored its first two playoff opponents by a 7-1 margin. The opening round matchup against Glen Cove at Skelos Sports Complex on Oct. 24 saw sophomore Jackie Cifarelli score twice and senior Jackie Nicholas once in a 3-0 victory. Glen Cove keeper Ashley Conklin made 25 saves. Five days later against Seaford, the Lady Cyclones overcame a one-goal halftime deficit to win 4-1. Dilorio had the magic touch and produced a hat trick, and Bellando also scored.
Comments about this story? TBellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
