After opening the season with two hard-fought losses the Kelly Green Farmingdale PAL Fifth Grade girl's team, coached by Keith Murphy and Lou Cardillo, won their first game of the season 10-6 against Mineola. The victory came due to a great effort by all the girls.
Kaitlyn McCrystal made her debut in goal and was awesome with 8 saves to her credit. The defense, anchored by the tenacious Megan Ryan, Emily Todd, Amanda Coakley and Samantha Spadaro all played a solid defensive game.
The midfielders and homes played a great game both on their defensive coverage and offensive opportunities. The scoring was led by the hot hand of Sarena Volante (4 goals), Katie Murphy (2 goals and 3 assists), Jamie Hart (2 goals and 2 assists), Alyssa Cardillo (1 goal and 1 assist), Allison Gallagher (1 goal and 1 assist), Stephanie Rice (2 assists), and Kelly Gzinic (1 assist). Julianne Littell and Jackie Lore worked hard on every ground ball opportunity and helped make it possible for Farmingdale to keep possession of the ball and continue to press for offensive chances. The offense as a unit played extremely well taking 22 shots. The coaches were extremely proud of every girl's effort on the field and are looking forward to the next game.
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The Farmingdale PAL girls seventh grade lacrosse team traveled to Massapequa with revenge on their minds. Farmingdale had lost to their cross-town rivals the first game of the 2003 season. The second meeting of the two teams started out even as they ended the first half tied at four. However, after a quick half-time pep talk, the girls came out fired up for the second half and outscored Massapequa five to one for a nine to five victory. The win improved their record to four wins and two losses.
The Farmingdale offense was led by Jessica Wadsworth and Katie Thompson with three goals apiece. Jackie Gunn had two goals and Lauren Broten had one. Adding to the offensive effort was Julia Castaldi with two assists and Jen Troy with one assist. Both Lauren Principato and Lauren Broten had excellent games at the center position as they compete for the title of best centerfielder. Dominating at the midfield positions were Stefanie Rulli, Brittany Kohlmann, Amanda Lavista, and finally Alyssa Kildare, who continues to impress the coaching staff with each game she plays. Liz Edwards also continues to improve at her attack position game after game and adds to the team's offensive play.
The defensive effort was led by Briana Birney, Lia Costanzo, and Allison Laudage who all had fine games in shutting down the Massapequa attack, especially in the second half. The goal tending tandem of Julianne Cona and Samantha Elie continue to stifle the opposition combining for eight saves.
In an enlightening interview following the game with Farmingdale three goal scorer and unofficial team spokesperson, Katie Thompson, stated that she felt like she was given divine inspiration from the religious retreat she and several of her teammates had attended earlier in the week. Katie further states that she hopes of attending more of these retreats in the future, as they seem to have an extremely positive affect on her game. She hopes that more of her teammates join her as does Coach Davis, who has noticed a miraculous change in Thompson's approach to the game. Next week the team travels to Rockville Centre, where they hope to continue their winning ways.
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On Mother's Day, the Farmingdale PAL third grade girls lacrosse team won their third game in a row at Manhasset by a score of 9-4. The Hurricanes did an excellent job of scooping the ball and passing to the open player. A strong offense scored nine goals led by Samantha Duranti (2), Justine Fernandez (2), Kimberly Kolodny (2), Colleen Reynolds, Nicole Scimeca, and Kelly Slane. Strong up and down play was led by Stephanie LoCastro and Megan Sullivan. The defense played outstanding led by Tara Grzinic, Emily Glascott, Gina Ramos, Kaitlin Gaghan, Alicia Baccarella, and Brittany Barton. The offense had nice passing led by Jennifer Labas, Haley Eivers, and Debbie Johnson. Goalies Charlotte Edwards and Alexandra Mosiello played great and recorded three saves each. The Hurricanes played their best game of the year and really looked sharp.
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Farmingdale's fourth grade PAL girl's lacrosse team celebrated Mother's Day with another impressive win on the road, beating Manhasset 9-2. From the opening whistle, Farmingdale outplayed their opponent at both ends of the field. Crisp passing, relentless pursuit of loose balls, and aggressive defense were all key ingredients in this terrific effort.
The offensive punch was supplied by Jamie Leone (3 goals), Kelly McPartland (3 goals), Krislyn Engelke (1 goal), and Maegan Meritz (1 goal). The offensive had help from Danielle DeRiso, Kati Mazza and Michelle Jacobsohn.
Kyra Ochwat was outstanding in the net, allowing only two goals against a very experienced team. Katie Brosnan, Julia Rachiele, and Kelly Sutherland played well on defense.
Special congratulations are extended to Geena Rubino who played very well in her first game ever. A belanted welcome to first year players Lindsay Hund, Martina Khalek, Jennifer Martin and Angie Mavaro who are all making good progress and contributing to the team's success.
The Farmingdale PAL Spirit seventh and eighth grade girl's lacrosse team ran their record to 3-0 with a hard-fought 10-9 victory against Garden City on Mother's Day. The team played without their starting goalkeeper, Brenna Dugan, due to a communication problem when she didn't know of a game time change. The teams other goalkeeper, Tricia Draghi, was unable to make it due to family commitments. Coach Joe Fanning pressed Alyssa Dorsey into service as the keeper and she responded fantastically with eight key saves and perfect clears every time. She was the difference in the victory.
The Spirit's top score for the day was Kristin Jones again with four goals. Jenna Block had another superior day at first home with three goals and an assist. Jillian Cerar was the key field player with two goals and an assist. Cerar used her outstanding speed and athletic ability to lead the team in ground ball pickups in addition to her offensive contribution. Candace Rossi and Melissa Maier each scored one goal while Kristen DiLiello had two big and nice assists. Shannon Haas and Tara Gangarossa also had one very nice assist each while playing very well in the midfield.
The Spirit defense played fabulously as usual. Brittany White and Melissa Crow again led their fellow defenders Amanda Dorsey and Erin Forstrom in the well known and tough Spirit eight meter defense. All four down low defenders work well together and are clearly the best defensive unit in the Long Island Senior Girls Youth Lacrosse League (LISGYLL). White's defensive and athletic ability make her the defensive leader while Melissa Crow's hustle, determination, and good defensive positioning make her a down low defensive bastion. Amanda Dorsey plays hard nosed defensive and always seems to come up with the difficult ground ball at the right time. Erin Forstrom works as hard as any of her defensive mates and does a great job of keeping her player in check.
Second home Katie Wood had another very good game controlling the ball in the offensive zone and the other two homes, Carolyn Psillos and Kiera Murphy helped control the ball behind the Garden City net. All three worked as hard as usual not only on the offensive end, but in pressuring the Garden City clears. The team still hopes to make up three games in this weather plagued season and has two regularly scheduled games left before the league's regular end of the season tournament in Garden City on June 15.