Lady Owls hope to take flight

Faced with a brutal schedule out of the gate that included games against three of last year’s Nassau Class B girls’ lacrosse semifinalists in a two-week span, Lynbrook is looking to tighten the defensive hatches and get the wheels rolling in April.

“We graduated our top two scorers and our top two defenders, so it’s going to take some time to come together,” said coach Vinny Tetro, who last spring guided the Lady Owls to a conference title and a first-round playoff victory over Hewlett. “We’ve had a tough schedule so far as well as some tough opponents ahead, but all the girls are working hard and I think we’re going to be OK,” he added.

Lynbrook’s experience and strength is in the midfield with seniors Carrie Feltkamp, Kasey Carter, and Marykate Regan, and freshman Ciara Gordon. Feltkamp and Carter are four-year varsity starters who earned All-Conference honors in 2011, while Regan is a three-year starter.

“Carrie’s a workhorse who does everything for us,” Tetro said of Feltkamp, who’s also a track standout. Carter, who is set to play collegiately at Marist, is a proven scorer who netted five goals and added two assists in a 14-12 overtime win over Island Trees, and Regan does “all the little things well,” Tetro said.

At attack, sophomore Chandley Borges is no stranger to finding the cage after scoring 20 times as a varsity newcomer last spring. A hard shooter, she had five goals and an assist in the Island Trees game. “Chandley has a rocket of a shot,” Tetro said. “That’s her forte. She has an amazing stick and can put the ball on net from anywhere.”

Senior Adrienne Germanakos, in her fourth varsity campaign, is running the offense from behind the cage for the first time and coming along nicely, Tetro said. “We’ve asked her to be the quarterback and she’s doing fine,” he said. Germanakos had five assists against Island Trees.

While the defense got off to a slow start, facing defending county champion Garden City, Wantagh and South Side is enough to inflate any opponent’s goals-against-average. The Lady Owls are 1-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play. “We’re all about defense right now,” Tetro said. “We’ve faced some of the best teams in the county. Moving forward, we need to be able to slow down opposing transition games.”

Lynbrook’s back line took a hit recently when junior Taylor Simeone, the unit’s “shutdown defender,” was ruled out for the remainder of the year due to a knee injury. Senior Kellie Marnin, a returning starter, and junior Olivia Cohn, who started the season at midfield, are being counted on to lead the defense. Freshman Gabrielle Patrick is also contributing.

In goal, sophomore Sarah Chyriwski enjoyed a strong finish last spring and has a year of varsity experience. Backup Lauren Marone, also a sophomore, had seven saves and earned the win against Island Trees.