Positive start for Oceanside

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Despite a slew of injuries, the Oceanside girls’ soccer team is off to a solid start in 2015. With wins in three of their first four matches, the Sailors are in second place with only perennial powerhouse Massapequa in front of them.

If the Sailors can grind out victories the first time facing conference foes, they should be real tough to beat when the team gets healthier in the second half of the season. Oceanside competes in Conference AA-1 with the likes of Calhoun, Hicksville, East Meadow, MacArthur, Port Washington, and six-time state champion Massapequa.

Head coach Marianna Winchester likes the way her team is dealing with the injury bug. “The more experienced players have done a great job of providing encouragement and promoting team unity,” Winchester said. “Getting healthy is going to be important as we play teams the second time around, and get prepared for playoffs. Outside of Massapequa, I see no reason why we can’t play with anyone in the league.”

Julia Duffy is one player who is persevering while playing through an injury. Duffy, who has eight of the nine goals Oceanside has scored on the season, found the back of the net four times in a 5-0 win over Hicksville. 

Jules Sicker is a terrific complement to Duffy at forward. Sicker also scored in the win over Hicksville, however, she suffered a knee injury and will be out until the middle of the season. Duffy and Sicker, along with senior Gabbie Mihale, are the team’s tri-captains.

Mihale is joined by sister Alexa, and Nikki Bermudez and Risa Zucker at midfield. The group has strong synergy and has done a nice job of setting up Duffy for scoring opportunities. 

Winchester would like to see more offense from her middies. “They have the ability to score, so we’re going to need them to look for their own opportunities and shoot more,” Winchester said. “We don’t want to count on just one girl to score. If Duffy went down, we’d be lost right now.”

The Sailors defend with a flat back four composed of Kaitlyn Rapp, Michelle Lomez, Grace Mueller, and Julia Burns. Rapp and Burns are stay-home defenders, with Lomez and Mueller doing a terrific job of anticipating and getting their nose in things. Winchester is happy with the way her defensive unit is keeping opponents off the corners.

Senior keeper Rebecca Cohen suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to opening game, and is out for the season. Melanie Burt was next up in net, but she also suffered an injury that will keep her sidelined for a little while.

Jennifer O’Connor has stepped in at keeper and has done an admirable job. She registered 10 saves in a 2-1 victory over East Meadow. Freshman Alexandra Gigli has been called up, and will see time in the net as well.

The Sailors will be back in action when they host Port Washington at 5 p.m. on Sept. 24.