Girls lacrosse ready to face off against top teams in the postseason

The girls lacrosse team is entering its final stretch of the season, and it hopes to make some noise int he playoffs int eh coming weeks.  The team went above average with a 9-6 record for the 2017-18 season, but ended the season as the eighth seed in Conference 1 due to their poor conference record of 3-6.  Comparatively, they performed exceptionally in out of conference games, going 6-0 and not losing a single game. 

The team did very well on their out of-conference opponents, beating them by an average of close to eight points, and even beating Hicksville by 13 to close out the season. 

That being said, the girls lacrosse team had a rough start to the season with three consecutive losses to Massapequa, Garden City, and North Shore, respectively, including a blowout loss to Massapequa to start their season with a final score of 1-11.  They would continue to bounce back winning seven of their last eight games, including winning back-to-back games to end the season.

The rough start ended up costing them a much higher seed, but they are still excited for what’s to come, and they know they can make a splash in the playoffs.  Compared to seasons past, they didn’t completely live up to Port lacrosse expectations, as the team had an average record of 10-4 over the previous 3 seasons. 

Their season was not a complete let down as they will be participating in the Conference 1 playoffs when they will be facing off Syosset in their opening playoff matchup.  However, they did have solid wins against Hewlett, Lynbrook, Hicksville, and even edged out a close one to there now playoff rival in Syosset 13-12. 

On the other hand, their bad losses came in their first three games as they lost by a combined 17 points in these games.  They also lost two close games to Wantagh (8-9), and to Cold Spring Harbor (10-12), which really changed the path of their season.

On the offensive side, the team is led by sophomore Tobey Tick, junior Michaela Gearty, and senior Rebecca Rosen.  These three combined for a total of 96 goals and 30 assists, with Rosen leading the pack with 34 goals and assists.

On the offensive side, the team is led by sophomore Tobey Tick, junior Michaela Gearty, and senior Rebecca Rosen.  These 3 combined for a total of 96 goals and 30 assists, with Rosen leading the pack with 34 goals and 15 assists.  Rosen sits at 40th in total goals for Nassau County girls lacrosse players. 

On the defensive side, the team is run by senior goalie Jenny Valenti, who posted 76 saves on the season. 

In terms of performance, their best game was certainly against Hicksville in their last game of the regular season.  They put up 17 total goals, including goals from Michaela Gearty, junior Morgan Gearty, three goals from senior Ali Hoffman, two goals from senior Caroline McCarthy, one goal from junior Tara McCarthy, and three goals and two assists from Rosen.  Valenti also kept 4 goals out of the net to preserve there 14 point win. 

Before their game against Hicksville, the Lady Vikings competed against Long Beach on May 7, and won this game in a low scoring battle.  The final score was 6-4 as Port took home the win.  Port looks to use this momentum after winning their last 2 games and take it with them in the playoffs when they face off against Syosset at Adelphi University in Garden City to open up their postseason play. 

When the girls previously played Syosset, they won by a narrow one-point lead, and they hope they can do the same in the playoffs. 

“This has been one of the best seasons for me because everyone on the team is such a threat on the field and I believe we have a chance of going far in the playoffs.  Our next game is against Syosset at Adelphi University and we defeated them in the regular season so I am excited for the game,” said senior Brianna Alvarez.