Duffy, Oceanside continue to roll

Oceanside’s Julia Duffy is having one of those years where everything she touches turns to gold. She opened the campaign with a four-goal game against Hicksville and is showing no signs of slowing down as the Lady Sailors make a run for the No. 2 seed in the Nassau Class AA girls’ soccer playoffs.

Duffy, a senior forward, made Conference AA-I rival MacArthur her latest victim Oct. 8 when she scored 1:22 into the game and added a pair of second-half goals for a hat trick in Oceanside’s 4-0 victory. She has 18 goals in nine games and scored at least once in all nine. 

“I’m more confident than last year and have a great bunch of teammates around me,” Duffy said. “We’re very connected and everyone is working hard. We play as a team and really want to win.”

Sophomore Alexa Mihale had a goal and an assist for the Lady Sailors, who got five saves from freshman goalkeeper Alexandra Gigli on the way to improving to 6-2-1. The Lady Generals, who played without senior standout Arianna Montefusco, fell to 2-6-1. Montefusco had a hat trick three days earlier in a win over Hicksville but left the game in the second half after suffering a mild concussion.

“You can never play it too safe with a head injury,” MacArthur coach Kerry Schaefer said. “We expect to have Arianna back soon. She’s a difference-maker for sure.”

Duffy and fellow senior captain Gabriella Mihale scored in the first meeting, a 2-1 Oceanside victory on Sept. 21, and the two hooked up early to set the tone in the rematch. “Julia’s speed is exceptional,” Lady Sailors coach Marianna Winchester said. “She’s a not a very vocal player so sometimes she’s able to sneak up on the defense. She’s always in the right place at the right time.”

MacArthur junior goalkeeper Sarah Andreski (eight saves) denied Duffy on a few occasions in the first half, and senior defender Marissa Giammarusco made a goal-line stop on senior Jules Sicker during a flurry to keep the margin at 1-0 at halftime. “That was a head’s up play,” Schaefer said of Giammarusco, who leads the backline along with juniors Tara Brophy and Jenna Stillman, and sophomore Nicole Imbrogno. “As a team, we need to do a better job of winning the 50-50 balls,” she added.

Oceanside kept MacArthur’s defense busy throughout the second half and broke through again with 20:48 remaining when Duffy cashed in a nifty pass from junior Nikki Bermudez. Alexa Mihale scored on a left-footed blast with 13:21 left, and Duffy completed the hat trick with 8:08 to go. Gabriella Mihale and sophomore Lauren Rullo added assists.  

Defensively, the Lady Sailors are getting big efforts from senior Grace Mueller, juniors Julianna Mannone and Michelle Lomez, and freshman Melina Serrao. “I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Winchester said. “We had a very strong first half. I can’t remember the last time we had a shot to be seeded second.”