By STEVE SINISKI
"This is just an amazing moment," said Lynbrook coach Doreen Combs following her team's 16th straight victory. "I went to school at Lynbrook and won a championship with the basketball team, but being on the sidelines and watching these girls come together and win, this is truly a special moment."
The Owls, who battled New Hyde Park in a tough, physical, semifinal matchup - a 1-0 win on Nov. 2 - were back in their own element against a skilled Cold Spring Harbor team that was out to try and push the Owls around.
"We knew coming in that if we played our game we had a good chance to win," said Combs.
With the win, the undefeated Owls (16-0) advance to the Long Island Class B Championship game against Islip this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Mitchel Field in Uniondale.
To say Lynbrook imposed its style of play on the Hawks would be an understatement. From the opening minutes of the game, it was clear that the Owls were ready to force the action and keep the pressure on Cold Spring Harbor. Even before Chelsey Feldman got Lynbrook on the board early when she converted a crossing pass from Michele Scifo - that was so perfect it split through two defenders-midway through the first half - it was not a matter of if, but when the Owls would finally break through. The Lynbrook midfield controlled the tempo and kept the ball inside Hawks' territory from the start.
The shots came fast and furious, so much so that there was no way the Hawks' defense could keep the Owls, who scored 80 goals heading into the championship in just 15 games-off the scoreboard.
"We wanted to force errors and be opportunistic," said Combs. "We wanted to play the ball to feet, and we didn't let down from start to finish."
Lynbrook scored two more goals late in the first half, as Kaitlyn Garry put home a rebound in front of the Cold Spring Harbor net and Scifo created her own opportunity. Dribbling down the left side of the field, she was able to get a Hawks' defender off balance with several ankle-breaking moves and earned a penalty shot when she was taken down inside the penalty box. The Owls team-leader in assists did the scoring on her own this time, when she blasted the penalty shot past Cold Spring Harbor's Ruth Morrongiello.
"She's an accomplished All-State player," said Combs of Scifo, who broke Lynbrook's all-time single-season assist record this year. "She can take it whenever she wants to, but she plays so unselfishly."
Feldman closed out the scoring early in the second half with her second goal of the game, and team record 28th of the year, thanks to some help from two of the Owls three captains. Catherine Wyndham and Patricia Conneely teamed up to turn a direct kick in the Lynbrook end into a perfect setup for Feldman 60 yards downfield.
"The girls have to have confidence in each other," said Combs of her team's willingness to be patient and create scoring opportunities rather than waste them. "Our midfielders controlled the game. Patricia [Conneely] and Michele [Scifo] start everything. Last year we couldn't finish, but this year we came in knowing we had to. We've just been more aggressive."
Lynbrook often found itself on the winning side of every loose ball, throw-in and direct kick, and the play of sophomore Jillian Kotchek is perhaps the best example of the Owls' drive to earn the Nassau County Class B crown. Whether the play was deep in Cold Spring Harbor territory or the ball was crossing midfield, Kotchek helped lock down almost half the field and keep the Owls on the offensive.
"She's so skilled and so fast," said Combs of one of Lynbrook's sparkplugs. "She plays her marks well, takes up space and can move the ball upfield."
