Lady Rockin' Mules win in OT

It’s been a tough campaign to say the least for the Malverne/East Rockaway Rockin’ Mules girls’ lacrosse team, but it showed plenty of life in a 10-9 overtime win at West Hempstead May 5. Senior Sydney Johnson scored the game-winning goal with 49 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Rockin’ Mules the Conference B-III win.

Malverne/East Rockaway held a 9-6 lead with 5:25 to play in regulation, but couldn’t hold off the Rams. Katie Lynch. Nina Boria, and Melissa Kosick each had a pair of goals for West Hempstead. Sophomore Taylor Cussen scored four goals and added an assist for Malverne/East Rockaway. Junior goalie Rosemary Vargas had 21 saves to earn the victory.

Despite winning just two games in league play, first-year head coach Nicole Beauford is pleased with the progress of the program. “We’ve made vast improvement from where we were at the beginning of the season,” Beauford said. “We’ve had numerous compliments from opponents and officials throughout the season. It’s tough to get a team composed of athletes from two schools to jell. But, these girls have bought into it, and we now have good chemistry. I’m optimistic about the future.”

The season got off to a rough start as the Rockin’ Mules dropped their first seven games and were outplayed by a wide margin in many of them. To make matters worse, Malverne/East Rockaway was playing in a conference that featured Glen Cove, Carey, and Sewanhaka. Each of the three remained undefeated in league play entering the final week of the season.

The Rockin’ Mules finally got in the win column with a 7-6 overtime decision over Elmont. Senior Alexa Germany’s unassisted tally with 3:29 seconds remaining gave Malverne/East Rockaway the victory. Germany scored three times as the Rockin’ Mules rallied from a 5-2 halftime deficit. Cussen added two goals in the game, and has a team-high 24 for the season.