Baldwin falls short of goal

Baldwin hit more than a few speed bumps on the soccer field this fall, as the Lady Bruins finished fifth in Conference AA-III (4-8-3 overall) with the top four teams advancing to the Class AA playoffs.

Injuries to a pair of key players early, and a few tough bounces down the stretch—Baldwin ended its season on a four-game losing streak—made the season difficult all the way around.

In a season-ending 2-0 loss to Syosset on Oct. 20, the eventual Conference AA-II champions who finished with just one loss, the Lady Bruins were locked in a scoreless game for the first 64 minutes. But the Lady Braves broke through for a pair of goals in the 65th and 68th minute to walk away a winner. Mepham also pulled away for a late victory on Oct. 17, a game in which the Baldwin had an early one-goal lead and later battled back to a 2-2 tie on a goal by senior Jade Aponte (six goals, six assists) in the 65 minute. Less than one minute later, however, the Lady Pirates scored the game-winner.

“We just didn’t get the breaks at the end,” coach Darius Burton said.

Among the bright spots this season were not only Aponte, and All-Class AA honoree, but also senior Kelsey Cohen, who captured All-County honors. After finishing second in Nassau County last season in goals, she added eight more to her career total in her final season. “Teams went in with [two and three defenders] on her,” Burton said. “There was a lot of pressure but she still did a good job. Every game they were keying on her.”

Senior sweeper Marissa Rhoden also earned All-Class AA honors, and makes for several top player at each level of the field that the Lady Bruins will need to replace moving forward. Senior Morgan Rachlin, a three-year varsity player and co-captain, was named the team’s Scholar-Athlete. “We had nine seniors and they were great girls on and off the field,” Burton said. 

Among those expected to continue playing a key role is sophomore All Conference marking back Julie Annecchiarico, who kept the top scorer in Nassau County, Syosset’s Gianna Romano (17 goals) off the scoreboard in the season’s final game. Freshman Maggie Thibault, who had five assists will be back at midfield along with juniors Bridget Jules and Nicole Sheintul at forward. “It doesn’t get any easier [next season],” Burton said. “We have to bounce back and get ready to go next season.”

Sophomore Madison Millwood made a strong impression on defense and will again lineup in front of goalie Montia Moon, a sophomore who wrapped up her first full season—after a strong playoff run as a freshman—with three shutouts. “She did a very good job and she’s a very good athlete,” Burton said. “She has great hands and I think she [earned] confidence [that carried over] in last year in the playoffs.”