North Shore loses heartbreaker

After another successful regular season in Nassau’s Conference I, the North Shore girls’ lacrosse season ended with an 11-10 loss to No. 3 Wantagh in the Class C semifinals. The Lady Vikings had clinched a bye and home field advantage against Lynbrook, in which they stormed the Lady Owls with an impressive 15-3 win, before succumbing to the loss.

Wantagh had jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first half and forced North Shore to play from behind for the entirety of the game.

“We let up those early goals and it was definitely hard to play catch up,” North Shore coach Megan McCormack. “We couldn’t buy a draw in the second half, but those girls left their heart on the field.”

North Shore scored with under a minute left in the game to close the gap to just a goal, but the late-game heroics had been too little, too late, as Wantagh would move on past the second-seeded Lady Vikings.

The postseason did show the ability of this talented bunch, though, as eight different Lady Vikings recorded at least a point in their dominant victory over Lynbrook. Senior Hannah Moran tallied five assists whilst also scoring a goal, and seniors Maddy Podaras and Micaela Fitzpatrick both nabbed hat tricks on the day.

These three seniors have been instrumental in the success of this Lady Vikings team all year, and they, along with their six other senior class members, will be sorely missed by McCormack.

“To lose nine girls you’ve coached and seen grow for a while is always tough,” McCormack said. “These girls are leaders, on and off the field, and I know that will translate in to anything they decide to do after this.”

McCormack was fast to say that this team is definitely not in rebuild mode, though. “We have a strong group of girls coming back who are looking to take up big roles,” McCormack said. “Playing in Conference I, it is difficult and there is always going to be tough competition, but that competition will mold our talent.”

That raw talent comes in the form of the Colbert sisters, Kaitlin, Kylie, and Casey, who McCormack says, “will need to step into a larger role,” along with defender Andrea Liotta, goalie Emma Russo, and Kate Gilliam.

The defense is a big focus for the future, as most of the Lady Vikings’ starters will graduate, leaving room for the younger girls in the program to step up and play a major role. Those seventh and eighth graders moving up the ranks in the North Shore program are being watched ever so intently by a laser-focused head coach in McCormack.

As for 2019 is concerned, McCormack says it is okay to let the very fresh loss wane away before the correct preparation for another successful season begins. That success begins with hard work, she noted.

“We probably need to incorporate a few more things and know our sets a little better to bring in more looks,” McCormack said. “But it all comes down to playing a full fifty minutes and working hard the entire time.”