The Lady Mustang lacrosse team has dominated their opponents early in the season. With four wins, the girls are playing with a tremendous amount of confidence, and gain more confidence with each game. Going into the season, there was little doubt that we would score goals. The Mustangs returned experienced goal scorers in Sam Didrikson, Katherine Hock, Jamie Carter, Deena Veezo and Danielle Adams. All of these players are off to a great start so far this season, and will prove to be a force to be reckoned with because of the addition of first year varsity players Mary Warren, Vicky Montalbanno and Nikole Tsabasis.

The area that was a possible concern was defense. Only three defensive players returned this year, Kate Nelson, Lauren Andersen and goalkeeper Diane Macedo. These three experienced players would have to work with a new group this year, and nobody knew how long it would take them to gel. Well, it didn't take long! This defensive unit led by Kate and Lauren in the midfield, Diane in goal, Rachel Moston, Elena Nuzzi and Chloe Tonini down low have been very effective so far this season, allowing no more than eight goals in any game so far. With the explosive and stingy defense, Coach Sheehan has a team that has a playing excellent lacrosse with a lot of confidence.

Coach Sheehan submits the following game highlights...

The season is off and running. What a chilly start!

The varsity squad faced off against its first league opponent and walked away (more literally waded through the mud) the victors in a 18 to 8 win.

The girls seemed to be picking up right where they left off last season with Katherine Hock netting five goals and Jamie Carter right behind her netting three. They also combined for three assists. Further support on the offense came from Sam Didrikson and Vikki Montalbano with two goals apiece. Though she did not score in this contest, newcomer Mary Warren made her presence felt on the offense.

The offensive unit looks very strong, but with room for improvement. The big challenge for the team this year is shaking out its defense. With only two returnees from last year the defense has a lot of new faces. On Saturday, Kate Nelson and Lauren Anderson did a great job directing the defense. New to the defensive picture this season is Rachel Moston, Chloe Tonini, Elena Nuzzi, Vikki Montalbano, Nikole Tsabasis and Theresa Dolan. The unit did a very good job on Saturday but recognizes where it needs to improve.

Diane Macedo picked up where she left off last season with a fine performance in goal. She netted 12 saves for a save percentage of 67 percent.

In this contest which saw over 62 shots combined from both teams, emerged victorious in a 10 to 8 win. In goal Diane Macedo had 22 saves for a save percentage of over 73 percent.

With all this action the scoring seemed to take a while to get going. Floral Park scored first, five minutes into the game. Mineola did not get into the scoring picture until 15 minutes later and then we remembered how much we liked scoring. At the half Mineola led 4 to 2.

Mineola opened the scoring in the second half establishing a 6 to 2 lead. Floral Park climbed back and brought the score to 5 to 6. Mineola scored twice more and led 8 to 5 with 10 minutes left in the contest. Floral Park tied the score with six and a half minutes left at 8 to 8. Katherine Hock scored 20 seconds later on a beautiful pass from Theresa Dolan. Two minutes later Mary Warren assisted by Sam Didrikson added an insurance goal to secure the win.

The scoring picture today saw Jamie Carter with three goals and one assist. Sam Didrikson, Katherine Hock and Mary Warren all tallied two goals. Newcomer Elena Nuzzi scored her first varsity goal today to round out the scoring picture.

Kate Nelson and Lauren Anderson did a superb job leading to defense. Deena Vezo and Danielle Adams came back to defense today to help out and did a great job. Theresa Dolan, Chloe Tonini and Rachel Moston finished off the defensive picture.

A phenomenon has occurred in Mineola sports this year. The 3-year-old girls lacrosse team has developed a following. With each win, the sidelines have seen the curious come down to see what is going on. Students, parents, teachers, alumni and siblings alike are attending the games of this exciting team. And yes, the game are exciting!

Coaches Sheehan and Weidman have put a quality product on the field this year. The offense is explosive, the defense is stingy and the skills are impressive. In just three short years this team has progressed from last to first, and currently hold an undefeated record at 5 and 0 early in the season.

The most exciting game of their history so far occurred on April 3 when Mineola hosted a talented team from Friends Academy. After a shaky first half, the Lady Mustangs dug down deep and went on a tear. They never gave up or doubted their ability to come from behind. Down six goals at the beginning of the second half, the girls showed the fans what they were made of, and put on a show. While Sam Didrikson beat the Friends goalie with a perfectly placed waist high shot to secure the win with 22 seconds to go, this win was truly a team effort. You need offense and defense to win, and the defense stepped up their performance in the second half, holding Friends to just four goals. Come on out and see the girls in action. You won't be disappointed!

Coach Sheehan submits the highlights of the Friends game, as well as the previous game against Wheatley. Keep up the good work girls.

The squad started off in typical fashion today putting in two quick goals. After that any semblance of the varsity squad I had come to know was gone. When the dust settled at the end of the first half the girls found themselves losing 3 to 9. Where was the team I had been coaching all season?

After that half-time break my team returned. We exchanged goals with Friends Academy and with 21 minutes to go we were still trailing by 6, the score 5 to 11. Vikki Montalbano kicked the team into gear scoring the first of what would be a six goal run by Mineola. So with eight minutes to go Danielle Adams tied the score at 1. Friends Academy's Katy Fahey scored two quick goals and Mineola was down 11-13 with four minutes to go.

At this point Mineola dug deep and turned it up a notch. Samantha Didrikson scored with 3 and 1/2 minutes left, Mineola 12, Friends 13. At two minutes Jamie Carter scored to tie the game at 13. Finally, with 22 seconds left, Samantha Didrikson scored again to put Mineola ahead 14-13. Friends made one more surge into our defense, but due to a foul by Friends a goal was disqualified. Mineola captured its fifth win by defeating Friends Academy 14-13.

While this scoring run was going on in the second half, the defense intensified their effort. Theresa Dolan, Vikki Montalbano, Lauren Anderson, Kate Nelson, Diane Macedo and Rachel Moston did a wonderful job of limiting Friends to only four goals in the second half after allowing nine goals in the first half.

Basically, the team played poorly in the first half and played phenomenally well in the second half.

Looking at the numbers:

Samantha Didrikson scored four goals and had two assists.

Katherine Hock scored three goals and had one assist.

Danielle Adams scored two goals and had one assist.

Deena Vezo scored two goals.

Jamie Carter scored one goal and had one assist.

Theresa Dolan scored one goal.

Vikki Montalbano scored one goal.

Diane Macedo recorded 18 saves for a save percentage of 58.

I am running out of ways to say score!

Today the squad racked up another win against Wheatley, defeating them 18-4. Katherine Hock tallied five goals and three assists, followed closely by Jamie Carter who had three goals and one assist. Lauren Anderson tallied her first goal of the season.

Offensively, the team continued its quest for a championship. The girls once again were very aggressive on ground balls and double teaming. They simply get better every game.

Defensively, the team used a man to man as well as zone defense today. The unit worked well together denying Wheatley the opportunity to score during the last 20 minutes of the game. Diane Macedo was stellar in goal with 14 saves.

Looking at the numbers:

Katherine Hock scored five goals with three assists.

Jamie Carter scored three goals with one assist.

Vikki Montalbano scored two goals with one assist.

Nikole Tsbasis scored two goals.

Deena Vezo scored two goals.

Lauren Anderson scored one goal.

Samantha Didrikson scored one goal with two assists.

Kate Nelson scored one goal with one assist.

Mary Warren scored one goal.

In goal Diane Macedo had a save percentage of 78.

The Mustang baseball team, coached by Mineola alumnus Helms Bohringer, has opened their season with an exciting extra inning win, 5-4, against Plainedge. With the score locked at 4-4, the Mustangs entered the bottom of the eighth. Billy Liakonis singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, and advanced to third on a ground out. With two outs, Bryan Gabriel got the clutch hit to score Liakonis and record the first win of the season for a successful opening day.

Congratulations to the girls JV lacrosse team for their solid win over Clarke. The leading scorers were Stephanie Machado with four goals, Nicole DiOliveria with three goals and Merridith Herra, Nancy Santos and Allison Auriemo with two goals apiece. Maryanne Georgou and Leeann Bohach had a goal each.

Without the excellent play of the defensive unit, led by Susie Hahn and Christina Almazon, the game would have been a lot closer. Patty Ober played excellent in goal with 15 saves and is a sure replacement for varsity goalkeeper Diane Macedo next year.

This past winter the following members of the gymnastics team won county awards for their events. Diane Macedo was all conference on the vault, and Kerrin Hughes was all conference on floor exercise. Congratulations girls. Mineola Athletic Director Anthony Gulli has submitted the master schedule for the spring teams. We hope that community members will support the Mustang teams as they compete for their community this spring. If you have the time, come on out and watch a game. For information, call the Athletic Directors office at 739-4168.

Mustangs Defeat Sailors 24-16

After trailing 9-0 at the end of the first inning, the Mineola Mustangs JV softball team scored 16 runs in the second inning and never trailed again in their 24-16 victory over Oceanside. Melissa Hock had a bases-loaded triple in that second inning. Other big hits in the game included Rachel Cohen's home run, and Lena Chacko going 4 for 4 and Kristina Zunno going 3 for 3. The Mustangs also played superb defense as they turned a 6-4-3 double play. Ali Rodriguez picked up the ball at shortstop - she threw the ball to Melissa Fischetto at second base - who then threw the ball to Stefanie Fabrico at first base. Freshman Alexandra Vega also made two nice plays in the outfield, as well as Lena Chacko in center field. Denise Fitzpatrick threw out a would be base-stealer. Jill Tognelli pitched four solid innings and Kristen Raffetto pitched the last inning as the Mustangs won their opening game of the season.

Date Sport Level Opponent Site Time

4/12 B Lacrosse JV Wheatley Home 4:30

4/12 B Lacrosse Varsity Roslyn Away 4:30

4/12 Baseball JV Bethpage Home 4:15

4/12 Baseball Varsity Bethpage Away 4:15

4/13 B Volleyball Varsity VS No Away 4:30

4/13 Softball JV Island Trees Away 4:15

4/13 Softball Varsity Island Trees Home 4:15

4/14 Baseball JV Bethpage Away 4:15

4/14 Baseball Varsity Bethpage Home 4:15

4/17 Baseball JV Clarke Home 4:00

4/17 Softball JV Garden City Away 4:15

4/18 Baseball Varsity Clarke Away 4:15

4/18 B Lacrosse JV Ames (Massap) Away 4:30

4/18 B Lacrosse Varsity Sewanhaka Home 4:30

4/18 Baseball JV Clarke A-BOCES 4:15

4/18 Baseball Varsity Clarke Home 4:00

4/18 G Lacrosse JV GN No Home 5:30

4/18 G Lacrosse Varsity GN No Home 4:00 H St