Oceanside ousted in overtime

A five-goal outburst in the first round of the Nassau Class AA girls’ soccer playoffs set up seventh-seeded Oceanside’s third matchup of 2014 against No. 2 East Meadow in the quarterfinals on Oct. 29.

In 160 minutes of play between the Lady Sailors and Lady Jets during the regular season, only East Meadow’s Nikki Keicher managed to score a goal. So it was no big surprise when 80 minutes of regulation didn’t decide which team would advance to the semifinals.

But less than five minutes into overtime, East Meadow’s sister duo of senior Isabella Fuduli and freshman Vittoria Fuduli combined on the game-winning goal in a 2-1 decision. Isabella fell to the ground after heading a free kick from Vittoria off the left post, then rose to her feet and left-footed the rebound into the top right corner at the 4:51 mark of the first 10-minute OT. “A credit to Bella, she didn’t give up on the play,” Lady Jets coach Adam Hananel said. “It was a back-and-forth game. I felt like we controlled the first half, but in the second half we got worn down a little bit.”

Oceanside (3-8-3) trailed 1-0 at halftime but got the equalizer with 18:25 left when junior Julia Duffy headed in a crossing pass from junior Risa Zucker. The visitors put 11 shots on goal against East Meadow keeper Alyssa Fama, who made a leaping save off a 30-yard chip shot with a breeze behind it early in overtime. Oceanside junior keeper Rebecca Cohen made eight saves.

“We came into the game feeling confident,” Lady Sailors coach Marianna Winchester said. “The two teams know each other so well. Both teams played hard and tough, and it came down to them getting the goal.

“We had our chances in regulation,” she added. “We almost won it with 35 seconds left.”

Senior Nina Abate gave East Meadow (6-6-4) a 1-0 lead midway through the first half when she headed in a corner kick by senior Toula DeLeon. “It was something we worked on the day before, so it was nice to see it happen,” Hananel said. “All three goals today were nice goals.”

Hananel said he attended Oceanside’s 5-2 first-round playoff win over Plainview-JFK on Oct. 25 and was impressed with the Lady Sailors’ performance, especially in the second half. “You could tell the way they were playing, they didn’t want to go home,” he said. Duffy and sophomore Nicole Bermudez had two goals apiece, and senior Alyssa Verdino also scored. Junior Jules Sicker had two assists, while Duffy added one.

“It was the most goals we scored all year; probably in a few years,” Winchester said. “Plainview’s a good team. We had to play well to beat them.”

The Lady Sailors lose seven seniors, including starting defenders Angelica Cafiero and Antonia Gigli, and starting midfielder Jaclyn Walsh. Cafiero, Gigli, Duffy, Sicker, Bermudez and senior Christina Polimeni are all slated to be honored at the Nassau County girls’ soccer awards dinner on Dec. 1.