North Shore aims for complete games

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The North Shore girls’ lacrosse team returns a talented unit this year with players slated to make appearances at the college level upon graduation. However, the focus right now is on the highly competitive Nassau County Conference I and outdoing a .500 record of 7-7 from a year ago.

Coach Meg McCormack has made an honest effort to address playing a ‘full 50”. She met with her team multiple times a week over the offseason to continue building a rapport through workouts and team-building exercises alike. The focus never faltered, though.

“We’ve been working on a few things but one big one is staying focused on playing a full game,” McCormack said. “We want to maintain possession and work on the simple things.”

McCormack’s group is one that keeps itself busy year-round when it comes to lacrosse. “The way Long Island lacrosse is, you have to basically have the stick in your hand year-round nowadays,” she said.

Returning all but two starters from last year’s squad, North Shore is ready to make a run with a big senior class that includes a strong defensive front in seniors Selena Fortich, April Rowell, and Nicolette Namis. Junior Andrea Liotta fills out this staunch defensive group that McCormack is looking to, especially in transition.

“This group is going to have to be big for us in the transition game,” McCormack said. “They are all very vocal and relay the plays well.”

In the midfield, seniors Maddy Podaras and Hannah Moran return as key assets to the transitional game of the Lady Vikings. “They are both very smart, and especially in the transition,” McCormack said. “They are good at spreading teams out and getting to ball to our attackers.”

One big focus for the Lady Vikings this year is playing a fully poised offensive game. To keep the ball in the offensive zone and eventually attack the cage with patience and focus is something this offensive unit is looking to become proficient in.

Caitlin Colbert is an attacker for this team that likes to push the ball upfield and pressure opposing defenders.

However, despite the number of talented players this group has, there are a number of very good teams lurking in Conference I, and McCormack is very aware of that.

“Look, we take it day by day, game by game, because in Conference I there are no days off,” McCormack said. “There is obviously a ton of talent on Long Island.”

North Shore went 1-2 in its first three games, dropping a pair to Long Beach and Massapequa respectively, and beating Port Washington. In a Double OT thriller with Long Beach, McCormack again focuses on finishing out a game and fulfilling her gameplan of playing the ‘Full 50’.

“Although we lost in double OT, I would say that it was definitely a good game to start off with,” McCormack said. “But we achieved that full game effort against Port Washington, and we worked together very well.”