East Meadow on doorstep of title

When the East Meadow Lady Jets traveled to Massapequa for their regular-season finale on Oct. 19 for a matchup that would determine the Conference AA1 girls’ soccer champ, there was every reason to think the game would serve as a preview for the Class AA county championship two weeks later.

It ended in a scoreless draw, allowing Massapequa to claim first place. And while the Lady Jets, with an 8-1-3 record, finished second, coach Adam Hananel said his team’s effort that day against a highly capable opponent sealed his belief that they were as ready as they could ever be to make a deep postseason run.

Indeed, Hananel said, his team took such firm control late in the second half that had the clock not run out, they were bound to score at any moment. “We felt like we were in a good place,” the coach said. “We were confident, we were organized. It was a step in the right direction.”

Eleven days later, the Lady Jets were one game away from their first county championship in nearly three decades, when they were set to square off Tuesday night at Cold Spring Harbor against fifth-seeded Syosset, which defeated a Plainview squad in the semifinals that had upset top-seeded Massapequa one round earlier.

The Lady Jets soared into their semifinal matchup Sunday following a resounding 6-0 defeat over Hicksville three days earlier. “They had a difficult time matching up with us on a player-to-player basis,” Hananel said of Hicksvile. “They didn’t really have any one who could handle the speed and play-making ability of Myla.”

He was referring to Myla McLeod, a dynamic sophomore who has provided a matchup nightmare all year long. But she’s just one of the squad’s several weapons.

Their diverse firepower showed in a touch semifinal challenge from Baldwin, a school that East Meadow failed to score against in two regular season matchups. In the first half, the Lady Jets couldn’t capitalize on a penalty kick. But as a symbol of East Meadow’s season-long resolve, it was Kayla Leary, who had missed the penalty kick earlier, that would net East Meadow’s first goal off a corner kick. Emma Terino added another, and the squad fended off a Baldwin push to win, 2-1.

Still, with no shortage of talented goal-scorers led by McLeod, and a seasoned keeper in Stephanie Sparkowksi, the architect of 12 shutouts the team has tallied this year, Hananel said he liked his team’s odds.

“It’s a really special group,” he said. “They’ve worked so hard and dedicated so much time and effort to getting better and trying to achieve something special. For their sake, I hope they’re able to create this memory for the rest of their lives.”