South Side seeks conference title

After playing former Conference I girls’ lacrosse rivals Massapequa and North Shore to two- and one-goal games, respectively, over spring break, South Side continued its run atop Conference IV this spring with a 20-8 victory over visiting Plainedge on May 5.

The Lady Cyclones, who held just a one-goal advantage with a minute remaining in the first half, blew the game open early in the second half and got at least five points from five different players on the way to improving to 9-0 in conference play. Sophomore Jolie Creo had a breakout performance with three goals and six assists, while junior Bridget Considine (five goals, one assist) and senior Jill Leonard (four goals, two assists) added six points apiece. Senior Grace Kelleher and junior Alex McNicholas chipped in three goals and two assists each.

“We’ve had some slow starts, so it was great to see us come out and steamroll early,” coach Meaghan Healey said of South Side’s 7-1 lead after 10 minutes. “Then before we knew it, they were back to within 7-6. We got a goal from Bridget right before the half to go up 8-6, but I still felt Plainedge had momentum.

“It was big that we scored the first two of the second half,” she added. “We were able to have a few more spurts after that to pull away. The girls are really clicking right now.”

Healey said she was expecting a close game with Plainedge, which suffered its only other conference defeat to Lynbrook by two goals. South Side handed Lynbrook its lone conference loss in overtime on a goal by Leonard. “I was prepared for a similar game to what Lynbrook had against Plainedge,” Healey said. “Plainedge has three big scorers. We didn’t want to give them clear sightlines to the goal. When they did manage to get through, Paige [Hennessey] was there to stop them.”

Hennessey, South Side’s first-year starting senior goaltender, made 11 saves working behind a defense led by senior Bridget Leake and juniors Allie Barry, Allison Mahoney and Katherine Parker. “Paige made some very tough saves,” Healey explained. “She’s been solid all season. Going back to the North Shore game, she’s stepped it up a notch.”