By STEVE SINISKI
The senior booted home the game-winning goal from 25 yards out with nine minutes remaining, lifting the Lady Jets past No. 2 Farmingdale, 2-1, last Friday.
"The kids are doing a real magnificent job of coming together and doing the job," coach Matt Pedicini said.
It was a fitting conversion for Walsh, who according to Pedicini, hit the crossbar in a scoreless playoff game against Farmingdale as a freshman in 2004. This time around, she avoided her biggest enemy-the crossbar, not the goalkeeper because it was so well-placed in the upper corner-and helped East Meadow (10-5-3) advance to the Nassau finals for the first time since 2002.
The Lady Jets faced off with top-seeded Massapequa last Tuesday for the title, and a victory would bring home East Meadow's first county crown since 1990. The winner advances to the Long Island Championship round this Saturday to face Sachem East at Tully Park off Denton Avenue in New Hyde Park. The scheduled start time is 1:30 p.m.
The No. 1-ranked Lady Chiefs swept the regular season series by a combined score of 5-0, but the Lady Jets are quite a different team than the one it faced even just two weeks ago. A week break between the regular season and start of the postseason allowed East Meadow get on a roll.
For the Lady Jets, the win over Farmingdale was the accomplishment of a huge goal-advancing beyond the semifinals after four straight seasons ended in the round. "[Advancing to the finals] does a lot for confidence," Pedicini said. "This has been a goal since February of last year.
"I congratulated them once again, but each time you achieve a goal, you have to set a new one."
Freshman Luisa Echeverria, inserted into the starting lineup against the Lady Dalers based on her hard work in practice and gritty play, made the move pay off when she broke a scoreless tie in the second half. A goal by Kayla Mueger evened the score, setting the stage for Walsh's perfectly placed blast.
In defeating Farmingdale for the first time in three meetings, East Meadow continued a run of outstanding defense. Since the final game of the regular season, a 0-0 tie with Baldwin on Oct. 23, the team allowed just one goal in three games, including a 2-0 defeat of sixth-seeded Calhoun in the opening round on Oct. 29. Ashley Guerrero and Gabriella Fuduli provided the offense in the victory.
"The defense has stepped up," Pedicini said. "There's been a lot of communication and a lot of talk. We're keeping everybody connected defensively."
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
