The Farmingdale Pal 7th/8th grade conference A team won their second game of the season defeating Long Beach 15-6. The game would have been closer than it was if it had not been for the outstanding goaltending of Colleen Magri and Megan Hardgrove, who between them made 23 saves. Long Beach actually dominated the first 10 minutes of the game but could not get a shot past Magri. Tricia Santorelli scored the first goal on a pass from Kari Ann Rotkin. Farmingdale then scored five goals by Melissa Pan, Katie Dorso, Samantha Petro, Megan White and Michelle Maier before Long Beach got their first one.

The second half saw more great defensive play by Farmingdale led by Vicki Fanslow, Erica Masci, Stacey McPartland and Jessica Carvo. The Farmingdale team's hustle and skill wore down Long Beach as the second half went along. Michelle Maier was able to score three of her four goals in the second half. Jenna Celano used her blazing speed to score three of her four goals in the second half. Courtney Cullen, Ali Lauterborn, Ryann Quinn and Kari Rotkin each had goals to round out the second half scoring.

Once again Farmingdale's defense was extremely stingy. Denise Mulhall, Justine Galgano, Kian Lyons and Nicole Juray did an excellent job double teaming the ball. Kristine Pullen also did a great job checking the ball and then getting the loose groundballs to help control the game. Coaches Lauterborn and Cullen were extremely proud of their team's performance and particularly of goaltenders Magri and Hardgrove.

For the second straight week the Farmingdale PAL 7th/8th grade conference B team jumped out to an early four goal lead in their home opener against Rockville Centre. Strong offensive play by Christina Recine, Katherine Orobona, Keri Ann McCarthy, Katelyn Moloney, Jessica Lore, Jaclyn Bernstein, Christine Sutherland and Danielle Garone led to four first half goals by Juliana Kirk, with Samantha Lyons, Meghan Birch and Kristen Lavista each scoring one.

Farmingdale let their guard down and allowed three unanswered in the final two minutes of the first half. This cut the Farmingdale lead to one for a half-time score of 7-6. Rockville Centre carried their momentum into the second half outscoring Farmingdale 4-1 in the first five minutes for a 10-8 Rockville Centre lead.

Then the Farmingdale defense led by Alyssa Calderone, Kaitlyn Donnelly, Kerri Grady, Nohra Ramirez, Mary Orobona, Alessandra Noto, and goalie Sarah Murtagh stepped-up their play allowing only two goals in the remaining 20 minutes of the game. Julianna Kirk sparked Farmingdale's comeback with great hustle picking up loose balls and scoring two unassisted goals tying the game at 10. Meghan Birch put Farmingdale ahead with a beautiful backhand shot while sweeping across the crease for her second goal of the game. The victory was then secured by going back to the red-hot Kirk, who scored two more goals giving her an incredible nine goals and the team a 13-10 victory.

The Farmingdale PAL Spirit, the fifth grade division A team, defeated West Islip 11-10 to also win its second game this season. The Spirit opened up a 5-1 first quarter lead led by two of Candace Rossi's four goals and one of Katie Woods' three goals and an assist. The Spirit closed the first half leading by a comfortable 7-2 lead mostly because of goaltender Julianna Cona's 11 first half saves which made the difference in the game. The third quarter, however, saw West Islip come back strongly to only trail 9-7. The fourth quarter saw the game tighten up even further with West Islip tying the score with only a little over a minute to go in the game.

The Spirit then won the game in dramatic fashion when center Candace Rossi won the next draw and passed to an open Brittany Kohlmann on the wing. Kohlmann got the big assist when she gave a nice give and go pass back to Rossi who then went to goal and beat the West Islip goalie low for the winning goal with only 28 seconds remaining. The Spirit then controlled the ensuing draw to seal the victory.

The remaining Spirit goals were scored by Alexandra Maldonado, Chelsea Bianco, Carolyn Psillos and Shannon Haas. Maldonado's goal was her first ever goal and it came on a nice pass from Bianco. Jackie Gunn showed her skill and unselfish team play leading the team in assists with two. Alyssa Dorsey also had an assist and controlled most of her center draws.

Midfielders Danielle Dialto, Melissa Maier, Jennifer Troy and Julia Castaldi did a great job getting the ball downfield on transition and helping control ground ball pick-ups most of the game. Lauren Principato, Stefanie Rulli, Sarah Khalifa, Brittany Tuzzolo and Keriann Garvey played strong defense when in the defensive zone and helped control the ball in the offensive zone on offense. Overall it was another great Spirit effort which resulted in a 2-0 record to start the season.

The PAL fourth grade girls team opened their season two weeks ago with a 7-4 loss to Wantagh Seaford. Farmingdale's goal scorers were Janine Hillier and Tara Coyle with two goals each. Brittany Hushion, Victoria Finocchiaro, Megan Fullam and Jamie McPartland all registered assists. The team trailed at one time 5-1, but the defense came together in the second half led by goalies Emily Fugarazzo and Katie Wong. The defensive effort from Regina Bates, Victoria Johnson, Jackie Mazza, Danielle Chieffo, Jessica Kessler, Kim Valdini and Shea Macagnone helped stem the Wantagh Seaford offense and allowed only two more goals. The offense matched the increased effort of the defense peppering the opposing goalie led by Katie Sutherland, Joan Buczhowski, Lauren Maksym, Jennifer Hults, Nicole Ramos and Shannon Palmer. Lindsay Hoglund, Kayla Mueger and Briana Lively helped control the midfield area.

The fourth grade PAL team bounced back this past weekend with a dominating 7-4 victory over Garden City. Brittany Hushion had two goals and an assist, Lauren Maksym had two goals, and Jamie McPartland had a goal and an assist. Kayla Mueger and Briana Lively each had a goal while Victoria Finocchairo had two assists and Katie Sutherland one assist. Even outstanding goaltender Emily Fugarazzo had an opportunity to play the field and contributed to the victory offensively with one assist. The offense had many opportunities with the outstanding passing and playmaking of Lindsay Hoglund, Jackie Mazza, Jennifer Hults, Morgan Abele, Shea Macagnone and Nicole Ramos. Tara Coyle dominated the play in midfield winning most of the draws and getting the ball out of the defensive end. Katie Wong split the time in goal and again gave an outstanding performance. The defense was the key to the game. The girls were always applying pressure to their opponents led by Regina Bates, Stacy Leckawicz, Danielle Chiefo, Jana Diamond, Shannon Palmer, Victoria Johnson, Jessica Kessler, Jillian Gemma, Megan Fullam and Kim Valdini.

The PAL sixth grade girls team also won their second game of the season with a 10-6 victory over Garden City. A report on the game will appear in the next article of the Farmingdale Pal girls lacrosse program. The third grade team had a bye week and did not play.