By TONY BELLISSIMO
Senior Kerri Kelty tallied with 2:22 remaining in regulation time to seal the win for the Lady Eagles, who advanced to face South Side in this Friday's semifinal at Mitchel Athletic Complex at 6 p.m. The game is a rematch of last year's county championship, which was won by the Lady Cyclones.
"Lawrence came to play," Central coach Cristina Canle said. "It was an aggressive game and both teams worked hard. It's what the playoffs are all about."
The third-seeded Lady Eagles (7-4-2 in Conference I) controlled the tempo for most of the contest and kept Lawrence goalkeeper Jessica Lebo busy. Lebo finished with 19 saves, and both goals that got past her were well earned.
"The first goal was a blast of a one-timer by Christina, and Kerri got the second goal off a rebound," Canle said. "We could have had a few more, but their goalie played well."
Central senior goalie Meghan Mannion didn't see as much action as Lebo, though all three saves she made were from close range. "They weren't knocking at the door constantly like we were, but every shot they took was a good one," Canle said.
The Lady Golden Tornadoes, who were seeded 11th and upset local rival Hewlett in the first round, were held in check by Valley Stream defenders Kerry Sass, Katie Goodwin, Carrie Gurowitz and Tina Smoudianis.
Central's defense is sure to be put to the test by South Side. It'll be the third meeting between the teams. A 2-1 Lady Cyclones' victory on Oct. 16 came three weeks after the squads battled to a 2-2 draw.
"We played two great games," Canle said. "Both could have gone either way. I'm expecting more of the same at Mitchel. It's been such a crazy year. It's anybody's game on any given day."
Top-seeded Massapequa and fifth-seeded East Meadow meet in the other semifinal. The county championship game takes place at Mitchel on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. "I think the wide field will be an advantage for us because of our speed," Canle said.
South loses in first round
Manhasset's Eileen Ward scored on a breakaway midway through the second half and goalie Joanna Trigg turned aside all 12 Valley Stream South shots, including a penalty kick, to highlight an upset of the Lady Falcons in the first round of the Class B playoffs on Oct. 25. South, which went 8-3-1 in Conference III, was seeded fifth.
