Team efforts carrying Lynbrook

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The Lynbrook girls’ lacrosse team improved its record to 6-2, including 5-0 in conference play, with a 16-8 win over Division last Friday.

The victory was as impressive as it was typical of the Lady Owls play this season. Not only have they outscored the opposition by a count of 107-60 in eight games, but they’ve done it with contributions from up and down the roster, and with spectacular seasons from seniors and juniors alike.

In the win over Division, senior Chandley Borges scored five goals, junior Gabrielle Patick added four and juniors Gianna Dolce and Ciara Gordon combined for eight assists. That was nothing new. Borges, a four-year starter, has 30 goals (and 11 assists) on the season. Patick, who switched from midfielder to the attack, has 32 goals. Gordon, who had a breakout season as a sophomore and has come back even better, has contributed 15 goals and 14 assists. 

Coach Vincent Tetro said that Borges is an “amazing shooter” and called Gordon “a very unselfish player” and a “game changer.” Patick, meanwhile, has had two separate seven-goal games. If these players were all the Owls had going for them, they would be tough to handle. But they are much more than that. In the Division game, Olivia Piro and Breanna Renz, both sophomores, added two goals apiece. Junior Bridget Baran and sophomore Zoe Simeone also scored. 

And then there is the defense, led by senior goalie Sarah Chyriwski, whom Tetro calls the defensive anchor. Chyriwski stopped 14 shots in the win over Division and had 16 saves in a 13-9 win over Clarke on April 8. She turned away 12 shots in Lynbrook’s season-opening 17-11 win over Hewlett on March 20. 

Tetro also acknowledged the strong, experienced defensive players in front of Chyriwski, namely seniors Gabrielle LoCicero and Casey Strauss. “We have a lot of weapons,” he said. 

The Lady Owls are playing as well as they are despite missing one of their stars: senior attacker Jillian Levitt, who has been out much of the year with an ankle injury. Levitt had three goals and an assist in the Hewlett win and two goals and two assists in a 19-8 win over Herricks on March 28. Tetro thinks one of the keys to the season so far has been Patick’s ability to move to the attack. 

After defeating Division, the Lady Owls set their sights on a tough non-league schedule that included games against South Side and Seaford. Tetro said he wanted his team to be battle tested going into the back part of the season, where teams like East Meadow, MacArthur and Locust Valley, all strong teams, await. 

Tetro said the games against South Side and Seaford will help him assess his team. “We’ll see where we are,” he said.