Thursday, October 1, 2026
After being outscored in the second half in each of its first four Conference A-III girls’ soccer games and still in search of victory No. 1, Valley Stream North finally broke through Sept. 22 against visiting Lynbrook.
Danielle Evangelista converted a corner kick from fellow sophomore Alanna McDougall with 9:30 remaining to lift the Lady Spartans to a 1-0 win. Junior goalkeeper Dana Morgante totaled 10 saves for her first shutout of 2011.
“The girls answered the challenge and were able to put a whole 80 minutes together,” VSN coach Geoff O’Connell said after his team improved to 1-2-2. “It was a great game. Lynbrook is a solid and well-coached team. It took a total team effort on our part.”
O’Connell said he was especially pleased of the defensive effort. With sophomore Sarah Miller sitting out with a leg injury, others stepped up to lead the back row. The experience of juniors Heather Aleksis and Alexis Contreras, and sophomore Tina Cassiano showed, while varsity newcomers Alyssa Franco and Gianna Nasso, both juniors, provided plenty of support.
In the first meeting between the teams five days earlier, the Lady Owls earned a 2-1 victory on the strength of two Patricia Loonie goals and 12 saves from Michelle Cantanno. Freshman Kim Jelich scored for North.
“We’re evenly matched teams,” O’Connell said of North and Lynbrook. “The whole conference is pretty similar since the county went back to ability grouping. Every game is up for grabs.”
Prior to Evangelista’s goal, opponents were doing most of the grabbing. The Lady Spartans led Jericho at the half Sept. 20 thanks to sophomore Samantha Scaglione’s goal, but they allowed two second-half goals and came up short.
“Jericho won its first four games, but all were close,” O’Connell said. “It doesn’t seem like there’s a big difference between all the teams.”
