By Tom Jordan
They put aside all the questions about adjusting to a new coach, Judi Croutier, who replaced the retired Bob Bigelow after the Cyclones won the state title last fall. And most of all, they put behind them the 56-game unbeaten streak they'd been carrying around like an albatross.
When the team finally dropped a game, to Massapequa on the first day of October, it was like a curse was lifted.
"We knew the whole streak wasn't just our streak," said sophomore Jenna Lucchesi. The Cyclones started "playing to win again, instead of not to lose."
And they did win. Eight in a row after the loss, including a rematch with Massapequa and four playoff games. Now the Cyclones' big moment has arrived, as they travel to Honeoye, in western New York, where they'll face Grand Island High School on Friday at 1:15 p.m. in the state semifinals. Grand Island is also in western New York, near Niagara Falls.
If the Cyclones advance, they'll play the winner of the North Rockland-Baldwinsville game for the championship. They hope to return home with their third straight state title and their 11th in 15 years.
South Side won its sixth straight Long Island title on Nov. 9, with a 4-1 win over Suffolk champions Smithtown. A neat row of almost 30 Cyclone duffel bags on the sidelines seemed to announce even before the game began that these girls were already packed for a return trip to the states.
But they fell behind Smithtown 1-0 16 minutes into the game and trailed until 10 seconds remained in the first half. That was when freshman Melissa Gimpel drilled home a shot from the left side that tied the game. Then South Side goalkeeper Christine Conway, a junior who has played in many big games, shut down Smithtown for the rest of the game while her teammates scored three times.
"We got really scared when they scored," said sophomore Lauren Koppel, whose scoring ability during the regular season helped bring the Cyclones this far. But, she said, Gimpel's first-half goal was enough to pump the team up for the second half.
Senior Kristen Johnson put the Cyclones ahead 2-1 less than 10 minutes into the second half. Then Gimpel scored again. Then senior Katherine Stritzl made it 4-1, and the Cyclones were headed upstate.
When time ran out, team members ran from every direction to the center of the field where they formed a giant hug, screaming and celebrating. "We're going to the states!" they chanted.
"I can't believe we lost so many people and we're still here," senior Katie Kuntz said after the game. This will be her third trip to the states. "It's incredible; it's insane."
Croutier played all eight of the departing Lady Cyclone seniors in the final minutes of the game.
Kuntz credited the Cyclones' continued success to team unity and the fact that there are no stars on the squad.
Gimpel, one of only four freshmen on the team, said she was thrilled when she made the varsity this year, having grown up hearing about the prowess of the Lady Cyclones. She said making it to the states in her first year is an "amazing experience."
The Cyclones beat East Meadow on Nov. 5, 3-0, to capture the Nassau County crown. In the semifinals, they defeated Valley Stream Central 4-0. They had opened the playoffs four days earlier with a 3-0 shutout of Baldwin.
South Side became a more aggressive team after falling to Massapequa in October -- after deciding to play to win instead of not to lose. In four playoff games, they outscored the competition 14-1.
As they played Valley Stream, the Cyclones already knew they wouldn't face Massapequa in the county finals. The Chiefs had unexpectedly fallen to East Meadow earlier that evening.
The Cyclones showed why they were still around that cold night at Mitchel Field. Leading 2-0 in the second half, they made something happen in front of the Central goal. A Central defender got to a loose ball and tried to clear it, booting a rising line drive, but freshman Molly Dreska leaped in front of the blast and headed it with a resounding thud 20 yards back toward the net.
Five minutes later, on the opposite sideline, with the ball still on the Valley Stream Central side of the field, Lucchesi stopped another clearing shot with her body.
"These girls are tough," said one of the 300 fans on hand.
A couple of minutes later, Dreska scored to make it 3-0, South Side.
