L.I. title for South Side

It didn't take long for Suffolk's Class A girls’ soccer champion Islip to find out what South Side’s Christina Klaum is all about.

Klaum, the Lady Cyclones' star sophomore forward, peppered Lady Buccaneers goalkeeper Tara Mackey (12 saves) in the first 25 minutes of the first half of Saturday’s Long Island Class A championship game at Tully Park before finally finding the back of the net after a feed from junior forward Michaela Lynch.

Klaum's goal, which came in the 27th minute, would stand as the lone tally in South Side's 1-0 victory over the Lady Bucs.

Besides finishing No. 4 in Nassau County this season in goals (17) and 12th in all of Long Island with 22 points, Klaum has scored nine times during South Side's 2011 playoff run that continues with a New York State Class A semifinal game Saturday at 2 p.m. in Cortland. Additionally, she has tallied at least one goal or assist in each of the Lady Cyclones' postseason matches.

"She's on fire," Lady Cyclones coach Shannon McEntee said of Klaum. "She really wanted this. Last year we got cut short, losing in the counties. The team was in it to win it this year."

Islip appeared to tie the match with 8:29 remaining in the second half, as the ball slipped past South Side junior goalkeeper Kelsey Berki after a minor collision with two Islip strikers. But the goal was disallowed after referees determined Berki had possession before contact was made.

McEntee said the call was proper because she felt Berki had indeed gained full possession. "You can't attack the keeper like that," McEntee said. [The referees] made a judgment call on it. Obviously, [Berki] had possession and you just can't do that."

Sophomores Allie and Kelsey Ford, senior Caitlin Wallace and freshman Tessa Considine set the tone defensively for South Side (13-2-4), as they helped hold Islip to just seven shots. Senior Julie Beyar was another key contributor in the backfield, helping Berki (four saves) notch her fourth shutout of the postseason, and eighth overall.