By TONY BELLISSIMO
It was merely four goals shy of going undefeated in Nassau Conference IV, having lost a heartbreaker to West Hempstead, 11-10, and tying both Great Neck North and Island Trees.
"It's frustrating to have such a great season and not make the playoffs," Nikas-Doherty said. "The top 12 teams in Class A got in and we were 13th. The girls were awesome on and off the field."
Valley Stream brought back most of its starters from 2005 when it registered seven wins against three defeats. Seniors Shavaughn Snipas, Jackie Bogensberger, Jackie Kaszubski and Jessica Ricotta were integral parts for four years and will be missed in more ways than one.
Snipas (46) and Bogensberger (33) combined for 79 goals and earned All-County and All-Conference honors, respectively. Snipas added 19 assists; Bogensberger 11. "Shavaughn is an outstanding finisher around the cage and also an unselfish player," Nikas-Doherty said.
When it comes to scooping up ground balls and getting the offense moving in transition, it's almost impossible to find a better trio than Bogensberger, Kaszubski and Ricotta. Kaszubski also earned All-Conference recognition, while Ricotta, the heart and soul of the defense, received the Unsung Hero Award. "Jessica's our firecracker," Nikas-Doherty said.
The defense underwent a facelift during the opening week of practice when the coach decided to relieve speedy junior Jen Bertha of her goaltending duties to join Ricotta and rock-steady junior Lauren Grupp on the back row. The trio was solid, and rookie goalie Felicia Jean-Baptiste, a junior, had a fine debut season. "Felicia never picked up a lacrosse stick in her life until March," Nikas-Doherty said. "She has no fear and Jen really helped her a lot along the way."
Lending to the offense were talented sophomores Lauren Luckert (20 goals) and Nicole McBride (15 goals, eight assists). McBride and junior Nicole Buccheri started at defensive wing, while Luckert and freshmen Amanda Korfhage and Kayleen Kelty played home positions.
Victories came against Roslyn, Bellmore-JFK, Elmont, East Rockaway, Malverne, Great Neck South, Sewanhaka and Wheatley. There were many special individual performances along the way.
Snipas, Bogensberger and Grupp had hat tricks against Roslyn, Snipas scored seven times and Luckert four in a 15-14 win over Bellmore-JFK, Snipas and Bogensberger had six apiece versus Sewanhaka, and Kaszbuski had two goals and five assists against Wheatley.
"We'll have to rebuild in certain areas for next year," Nikas-Doherty said. "But we'll have a bunch of talented players back."
