North Shore earns high seed

The North Shore girls’ lacrosse team has been realizing its potential over the latter half of the season, winning six of its last seven games playing as a cohesive unit and pushing for a high seed in the playoff race.

“We’re shaping up to be the 2 seed,” head coach Meg McCormack said. “We’ll know how the rest of the bracket shakes out in the coming days.”

McCormack is referring to the remaining 11 teams to earn their spots in the playoff picture. With an eventual securing of the No. 2, the Lady Vikings would host the No. 7 or 10 seed in the Class C quarterfinals on May 17 after receiving a first-round bye. Although McCormack is proud of her squad for its achievements up until this point, she is weary of her talented team possibly playing to the level of its opponent.

“I’m so proud of them for what they have accomplished. They have put in a ton of work over the offseason and early in the year,” McCormack said. “But I don’t want us to start playing to the talent level of our opponents. I know that’s sometimes hard to do, but we have to focus on that.”

Instead, the Lady Vikings will look to play to the level of what they have been recently this year, rattling off wins against tough Conference I competition.

“Here, in Conference I, there really are no days off,” McCormack said. “But I am grateful for that. Our girls already know how tough the competition on Long Island is, and going into the playoffs already understanding that is good.”

One of North Shore’s signature wins came against Wantagh on April 18. The 9-7 decision also propelled a winning streak and was the turning point of the season. “Wantagh has always had a solid program. We were down in that game and had to fight back,” McCormack said.

Maddy Podaras and Caitlin Colbert both nabbed hat tricks whilst dishing out two assists each. Kylee Colbert netted two goals and an assist, while Selena Fortich tallied a goal and an assist. Sophomore goalie Emma Russo totaled seven saves. “Not only do these girls put up consistent numbers for us, but they make their teammates better,” McCormack said.

Podaras has 38 points on the season, while Caitlin Colbert has 28 and Fortich has 15. Having this diversified attack brings McCormack and the team confidence, but the effectiveness of the defense allows for transition opportunities and the offense to really flow without the worry of a transition goal on the other end.

“This defense is really connecting. April Rowell, Micaela Fitzpatrick, Andrea Liotta, Hannah Moran, who is huge in transition, they are all playing key roles,” McCormack said.

With the Lady Vikings boasting nine seniors, they want to prolong the season as much as possible. “They just do not want their senior season to end,” McCormack said.

Some of the seniors are poised to play at the college level, including Rowell (SUNY Geneseo), Nicolette Nanis (Rochester), and Alana Greene (George Washington.)