West Hempstead falls in semis

Even after defeating Oyster Bay twice during the regular season, coach Kelly Byrne realized her second-seeded West Hempstead team faced an uphill battle entering the Nassau County Class B girls’ soccer semifinals Oct. 25.

Sophomore midfielder Mikaela Sarmiento suffered a torn ACL and starting freshman defender Alexa Rivera sprained an ankle. Leading goal-scorer and junior midfielder Madison Abi-Aoun played with strep and was not at her usual vigorous and dangerous self.

"Although she was playing on the field, she just really wasn't able to run," Byrne said. "I had to take her off a couple of times. When the general is not feeling 100 percent, we just couldn't get things moving."

Those injuries took its toll and them some in a 2-0 home loss. Gabriella Torres scored one goal and assisted on Marlo Knox's tally for third-seeded Oyster Bay (9-5-2). Oyster Bay lost to Wheatley in the Class B final, 6-0, on Sunday.

The Rams (8-3-1) had beaten Oyster Bay, 3-1 and 3-0, most recently on Senior Day on Oct. 18.

“It should have been an easy win for us,” Byrne said. “But Oyster Bay played probably their best game. Their coach did his homework. He knew my key players were. He knew my injuries.”

Despite a disappointing finish, the defeat could not wipe away an excellent regular season for the Rams. "We had a very good season," Byrne said. "We were able to use the new incoming freshmen. They really meshed nicely with the juniors and the seniors."

Junior midfielder Sara Dos Santos (three goals, seven assists) made for a dangerous dynamic duo with Abi-Aoun bi-Aoun (team-high 14 goals, nine assists)

"Most games they carved through any defense," Byrne said. "If I say we need a goal, they score a goal the next three minutes. They just can just take the defense away, which is fantastic."

Other key contributors included goalkeeper and junior captain Sophia Cimineram, senior captain and center back Jancy Cabrera, junior defender Melanie Rodriguez, sophomore midfielder Mikaela Sarmiento.

In a season with many memorable moments, one that stood out for Byrne came in the 3-0 win over Oyster Bay. Byrne decided to put freshman Willow Stern into the game.

"I said to her, ‘You're going to go in and you're going to score a goal. Just keep pressing,’ “ Byrne said. “Two minutes later she scored her second goal of the season. The girls were like, wow!"

While the start of the 2024 season is 10 months away, Byrne certainly wouldn't mind a repeat regular season performance.

"I would like to really duplicate a lot of the things we did this season," she said. "The culture of the team. They're very giving to each other. They're very kind to each other.

“Girls were in charge of some of drills. I really tried to incorporate the girls in the training that they have a lot of fun, helping younger girls to make them be a part of the team."