Valley Stream nips Malvern/East Rockaway

Less than two weeks after losing to Malverne/East Rockaway in a tremendous triple overtime non-conference game, Valley Stream District turned the table on the Lady Rockin’ Mules in another tight-knit Nassau girls’ lacrosse battle at Firemen’s Field.

Senior Meaghan Adams had a hat trick and added two assists and senior goaltender Julia Latremore made 11 saves to lead the hosts to a 7-6 home victory on May 9, sealing no worse than a .500 campaign overall and a winning Conference V season for Valley Stream District. Sophomore Isabella Morales and junior Audrey D’Aulisa added a goal and an assist, while Malverne/East Rockaway was led by junior Hope Matthews’ hat trick.

“Slow starts have been our biggest weakness,” assistant coach Karen Cooney said after Valley Stream improved to 6-3 in conference games and 7-6 overall. “We were a little flatfooted at the beginning, but the girls finished the first half strong and came out in the second half really wanting it,” Cooney added.

Malverne/East Rockaway (7-4 overall, 5-4 in Conference V), which defeated Valley Stream 9-8 on April 27 behind four goals from Kailey Hyland and two apiece from Ayeka Fibluil and Diana Jean, led the rematch 3-2 at halftime and played well enough to win, coach James Amalfitano said.

“They did very well, not just today but all season,” Amalfitano said. “They dug out groundballs and moved the ball well in transition. They really played well and took the game right down to the end.”

Kayla Terrell opened the scoring 2:40 into the game and Alessia Drevnyak found the net 42 seconds later to get the Rockin’ Mules off to a flying start. Adams and D’Aulisa, who scored three times apiece in the April 27 meeting, sandwiched goals around one by Jean as Valley Stream trimmed the deficit in half by intermission.

After Malverne/East Rockaway dominated possession in the first half, the hosts had a little more spring in their step after the break. Morales got the equalizer 3:08 into the second half and then Adams got into a groove. She put Valley stream up 4-3, and then after Matthews tied it scored once and assisted on sophomore Giuseppina’s goal to make it 6-4.

“Meaghan has been one of our top offensive players all season,” Cooney said of Adams. “She’s a four-year varsity player and one of our senior leaders.” 

Freshman Emily Soldactic provided the largest lead for either team when she made it 7-4 with 14:55 remaining. Matthews answered twice, including a shorthanded goal with 1:42 left to cut the margin to one. But Latremore stood tall in the end as Malverne/East Rockaway threatened to send the matchup into overtime once again.

“She’s been the wall of our defense,” Cooney said of Latremore. “The way she played today is how she’s played all year.”

Despite the narrow defeat, Amalfitano couldn’t be disappointed. “We’ve made tremendous progress,” said Amalfitano, who noted the team’s 3-10 record in 2016. “My favorite game of the season, even though we lost by a goal, was against Glen Cove a few weeks ago. It was our first night game and it came down to the wire.”