Long Beach returns to form

After hitting a few bumps in the road in the always rough-and-tumble Nassau Conference I girls’ lacrosse, Long Beach regained its confidence with a couple of late-season victories and will attempt to make noise in the Class B playoffs once again following a trip to the semifinals a year ago.

“We’re a really fast team and sometimes we’re moving faster than we need to,” coach Rachel Ray said after the Lady Marines rolled to a 13-7 victory at Farmingdale on Tuesday afternoon. “We figured it out today,” she added. “The girls knew it was time to prove themselves in Conference I again after losing two in a row.”

Senior Katie Whelan netted five goals and assisted on a pair, and senior Siobhan Rafferty and sophomores Jillian Canner and Hannah Lewis added two goals apiece as Long Beach concluded the conference schedule with a 6-5 mark and carried an overall record of 9-5 into the regular-season finale against St. John The Baptist on Thursday.

“We know we’re better than the six goals we scored against Port Washington and Wantagh,” Ray said, referring to back-to-back 9-6 defeats in late April. “We made some uncharacteristic mistakes on offense and didn’t capitalize on man-up opportunities. Today we showed what we’re capable of like we did early in the year.”

The Lady Marines scored eight times in the second half and will look to ride their performance into the regular-season finale and playoffs. They’ll host a first-round playoff game on May 17.

“We’re rotating more off the bench and doing what we can to keep Katie and Siobhan fresh,” said Ray, referring to veteran weapons Whelan and Rafferty. “They’ve had to work a little harder because they draw so much attention. Katie’s the fastest player on the field any game we play and dominated draw controls today. Siobhan always makes big plays at both ends.”

Rafferty leads the team with 41 goals to go along with 11 assists. She scored six times to help Long Beach snap its two-game skid with a 17-6 non-league win over Oyster Bay on May 6 and also had a six-goal performance April 24 in a non-league win over Oceanside.

Whelan has 21 goals and 19 assists, Canner has 23 goals and 20 assists, freshman Maggie Reznick has 18 goals, and junior Emma Pfaff has 13. “Jillian’s stepped up as a consistent scoring threat,” Ray said of Canner. “She’s dominant from the left side.”

Defensively, the Lady Marines have been solid all year in front of standout junior goalie Sarah Reznick. The unit is led by lockdown defender Daisy Willard, a sophomore, and seniors Meg Sofield, Savannah Kile and Charlotte Kile. Kelly DeResto has provided a boost as well.

“We started off on such a strong note and we’re hoping the offense and defense will click at the same time in the playoffs,” Ray said.

Long Beach is likely the No. 2 seed and could be on a collision course to face Manhasset in the semifinals on May 22 at Adelphi University.