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Mostly Cloudy Beyar leads Lady Cyclones to final
Records hat trick in win over Plainedge
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Carly Beyar scored three times in South Side's Class A semifinal win.
Susan Grieco/Herald
South Side had some anxious moments during last Friday’s Nassau Class A girls’ soccer semifinal game against Plainedge at Tully Park, especially late in the first half when senior Carly Beyar went down clutching her right knee.
Luckily for Beyar, who had knee surgery in 2008 and missed the playoffs as a result, it wasn’t as serious as it felt and she retuned in the second half to score twice to complete a hat trick and lead a 4-1 victory that put the top-seeded Lady Cyclones (15-0-2) one win away from a 13th straight county championship. They advanced to meet sixth-seeded Division for the title at the same site on Wednesday, after press time.
“It’s the first time since the surgery I was tackled really hard,” said Beyar, who plays with a brace that consumes her whole right leg. “I felt a snap and I thought I was done. Thank God it’s fine.”
“We made some really nice passes today and I liked the way we controlled the ball, but I also thought we tried to make that extra pass a bit too much,” Lady Cyclones coach Judi Croutier said.
It didn’t take long for fourth-seeded Plainedge to cut the deficit in half. A long direct free kick by Gabrielle Charno rattled around the South Side box and was banged home from close range by Stephanie Maybie at 1:43. The goal lit a fire under the Lady Red Devils, who pressed for the equalizer and came within inches of getting it 22 minutes later when South Side senior Jackie Nicholas made a sliding save at the goal line.
“We made it interesting,” Croutier said. “It’s the playoffs and every team brings its best.”
Beyar, who reentered the game early in the second half, provided breathing room with a perfectly placed left-footed blast from 20 yards out to make it 3-1 with 9:19 remaining. Less than two minutes later she converted a pass from junior Dana Rosney for the final margin. “I try to use my left foot from time to time so I’m not always using my right,” Beyar said. “I took a chance and it went in.”
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