Impressive start for Lynbrook

About 12 hours after Lynbrook walked off the new turf field at Marion Street with a hard-fought football victory over Bethpage, it was the Lady Owls turn to try out the surface also built for soccer and other sports.

Senior Meghan Montine slid to the turf to direct in a pass from freshman Erin Loonie to break a tie with 3:28 remaining in the first half, and sophomore Sydney Amato added an insurance goal midway through the second half, to lift Lynbrook to a 3-1 win over Bethpage in a Conference ABC-III game last Saturday morning. Junior Patricia Loonie also scored for the Lady Owls, who got seven saves from sophomore goalkeeper Michelle Cantanno on the way to winning their sixth straight out of the gate.

“I love the new field,” said Montine, who also had an assist. “We’ve practiced on it and I hope we play more games here. You know you’re going to get a true roll on passes, and it makes for a faster game.”

Lynbrook, which lost only three starters from last year’s conference championship team, features four sets of sisters on the roster and has shown chemistry from the get-go, coach Jennifer Dankenbrink said. “It’s a very cohesive team,” she said. “We moved up after winning the conference last year, but I knew we’d be OK because the girls played summer league together and really get along great.”

It didn’t take long for the Lady Owls to get on the scoreboard. Patricia Loonie, who found the net in each of the first three games this fall, fired a left-footed blast from about 20 yards out that sailed over the outstretched arms of Bethpage keeper Mackenzie Pech (10 saves) and into the top left-hand corner of the goal with just 9:48 gone.

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Lady Golden Eagles pulled even nine minutes later on a goal by Danielle Olive. It was only the third goal allowed in six games by Cantanno, who has three shutouts.  

“This is already Danielle’s third year on varsity,” Dankenbrink said of Cantanno. “She’s excellent.”

Lynbrook’s defense, comprised of seniors Danielle Barra and Aine Mooney, junior Allison McDougal and sophomore Kacie Curran, limited Bethpage’s scoring chances in the second half. “Our defense has been great all year,” Dankenbrink said.

The Bethpage game marked the Lady Owls’ third straight win by two goals. They defeated Oyster Bay, 2-0, on Sept. 26 on goals by sophomores Alexa Amato and Hailey Greif, three days after defeating Roslyn, 3-1, behind the offense of Montine and twins Alexa and Sydney Amato. Cantanno had nine saves against Oyster Bay.

Though the site of upcoming home games against West Hempstead, Division and Roslyn remain unclear, Dankenbrink said the turf field plays to her team’s advantage. “It’s a bigger and faster field,” she said, compared to Lynbrook North Middle School. “I think we’re a tougher team to play against on turf because of our speed and passing ability.”