The Mineola High School girls lacrosse team played in the ultra rugged Conference I, but survived. The effort paid dividends because the Lady Laxers made the Nassau County playoffs. The Mustangs then opened the playoffs with a victory over Glen Cove.

"Though we've made the playoffs four of five years, we've never been able to get past the first round," said coach Katie Sheehan.

Getting past the first round for Mineola earned the Lady Laxers a game against one of the top lacrosse teams in the east as Manhasset rolled to an 18-5 win.

These same teams had played earlier in the month and the Braves put on a clinic. Their All-American Kate Breslin scored 11 goals in the game. Though the result this time was still a loss, coach Sheehan said this game was different.

Breslin was limited to five goals, three of them in the first half. In the first game, Manhasset scored 16 goals at halftime. This day, the Braves were held scoreless for six minutes of the opening half and midway through the half, had been held to two goals.

Coach Sheehan credited her team's defensive effort. "Lauren Anderson solely keyed on Breslin, while Theresa Dolan picked up the player on the fast break. Maryanne Georgeou shifted back to defense for the contest and made her presence felt. The rest of the defense consisted of Leanne Bohach, Amy Kemmler, Margaret Phelan and Alison Auriemmo, all of whom did an outstanding job," she said.

Meanwhile, a pair of junior varsity players pulled up to the varsity for the playoffs and ended up scoring their first varsity goals. Caitlyn Herrera and Filomena Palumbo each found the net. The other goals came from Danielle Adams, Victoria Montalbano and Georgeou. Goaltender Ally Murphy had a strong game, stopping many point blank shots and was aggressive, coming out of the net when necessary and ending with 14 saves for a percentage of 44. Next year, in their sixth season, the Lady Laxers hope to win a second round playoff game.

When we last visited, the Mineola High School junior varsity baseball team had its six-game win streak snapped with a loss to Plainedge. The Mustangs completed a 6-2 record in their crossover games. It was time to step into conference play. Coach Barry Silverstein's crew opened in a big way, jumping on Jericho 19-4 to start another five-game win streak. Starting pitcher Tom Owens worked five innings for the win, while Derek Webber, Danny Medlock and Mike DeStefano combined to go 8 for 12 at the plate, driving in seven runs and scoring eight times. Game two of the series was another Mustang win. Derek Webber went the distance, allowing five hits for the win. Tom Owens and Peter Averaimo both went 2 for 3 and scored twice. The Mustangs finished off a three game sweep of Jericho with a 6-5 victory. Starting pitcher Jerrill Harrison was let down by his defense and was unable to finish. Mineola committed five errors behind Harrison, resulting in four unearned runs. But, the team got straightened out. Joe Wissler relieved Harrison and threw four innings of shutout ball.

Mineola kept its winning ways going when it opened the Roslyn series with an 11-5 victory. Chris Sallie went 2 for 4 and drove in two runs. Tom Owens pitched six shutout innings. The Bulldogs scored all five runs off the bullpen.

Game two of the series was a gem. Joe Wissler tossed a perfect game in a 9-0 Mineola victory. Wissler struck out eight in facing the minimum 21 batters. Offensively, Mike Bencivenga was 2 for 2 and pulled off a text book suicide squeeze. Matt Shanahan was also 2 for 3. The third game of the series was rained out.

The win streak was snapped in the next game. Clarke outscored the Mustangs 15-8 to hand Joe Wissler the loss. But Mineola battled in this one. The Mustangs came back from a 6-0 deficit to tie the game and led 8-7 after six innings. But, Clarke sent 12 men to the plate in the final inning, with eight of them scoring.

Mineola concluded its season by bouncing back to outscore Clarke 10-9. Once again, the Mustangs had to come from behind. Six unearned runs in the second put Mineola in a 6-0 hole. But, the Mustangs put a six spot of their own on the board. Tom Owens allowed just three unearned runs en route to his fourth win against no losses. So, Mineola completed its season with 12 wins and 3 losses. "This was the hardest working team I have ever had the privilege of coaching," said coach Silverstein.