Lady Bruins return to semis

Baldwin not only ran with the big dogs in Nassau Conference A-I girls’ lacrosse, it finished with a winning regular-season record and advanced to the playoff semifinals for the second time in as many years under coach Nicole Lein.

“It was tough in the beginning,” Lein said about the highest level of competition in the county, “but we came into the season with the attitude that if we worked hard, we’d get through it OK. The girls definitely worked hard and were up to the challenge.”

The Lady Bruins won four of seven conference games and finished 11-6 overall, marking a second straight double-digit win campaign. They earned the No. 4 seed for the Class A playoffs and beat Syosset in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Farmingdale in the semis.

“I’m so proud of the girls in general,” Lein said. “Making it to the semifinals again was a nice accomplishment. I didn’t know how we were going to perform this year in the top conference and after graduating only three starters I’m excited to see what we can do next year.”

Lein was cautiously optimistic about the Lady Bruins drawing fifth-seeded Syosset in their first playoff game May 19 after they won the regular-season matchup by a comfortable 11-4 margin just two weeks earlier. “We knew what to expect and how to defend Syosset, but I was worried about overlooking them in the playoff game,” Lein said. “We did come out a little slower than normal at the beginning, but we played hard all game and had a strong second half.”

It was 1-1 at halftime until junior Allie Rodgers led Baldwin to a second-half surge that resulted in a 7-3 victory. She had three goals, while seniors Raquel Mitchell and Victoria Pellegrino, junior Nicole Gardianos, freshman Jessica Markowitz and eighth-grader Kelsey Cohen contributed one apiece.

Anyone can beat anyone on a given day, and that’s the same attitude we took into the semifinals against Farmingdale,” Lein said.

    Though the Lady Dalers proved too much to handle, winning 18-6, Baldwin played an even second half and never gave up, Lein said. “I thought we played a better defensive game than when we saw them in the regular season,” she said.

Massapequa, which knocked off Baldwin in last year’s semis, advanced to the finals with a victory over Port Washington. The Final Four was the same as a year ago, and Lein wouldn’t mind if it remains that way. “If it’s like that again next year,” she said, “I’ll be fine with it.”

Mitchell, Pellegrino and Courtney Berg are the only starters graduating. Berg, Gardianos, Jessica Markowitz, junior Nicole Markowitz and junior goaltender Caroline Winters earned All-Conference honors, while Rodgers received All-County recognition.

Rodgers, who has her sights on Binghamton University down the road, led the offense with 60 goals and 13 assists, followed by Cohen (23 goals), Berg (19) and Gardianos (19.)