Lynbrook falls short in semis

Lynbrook staged a late scoring surge against top-seeded Wantagh but fell short, losing 11-8 in a Nassau Class C girls’ lacrosse semifinal at Adelphi on May 23 and bringing to a close an otherwise notable season.

Down 10-5 midway through the second half, Lynbrook senior goalie Hope Germanakos made three successive saves, helping to spark her teammates to score the next three goals to pull within two of a tie. Wantagh had just won its sixth consecutive draw when Lynbrook attacker Molly Carter netted her fourth and final goal at 12:09, and freshman attacker Elizabeth Murphy and junior midfielder Sophia LoCicero both scored to narrow the lead to 10-8. 

But Wantagh won the next draw and senior midfielder Megan Gordon scored the game’s final goal on a free position play at 9:15. The Lady Warriors were able to dominate time of possession during the closing minutes to advance to the next round. 

“Our girls battled back, and a couple of turnovers here and there, or a couple of missed shots or saves and it’s a different game,” said Lynbrook coach Vin Tetro. “We were right there with them, the five seed going against the one. We gave them a scare.” 

Wantagh struck first to open the game and both teams traded goals until the Lady Warriors took a 5-3 lead with scores by Gordon and senior midfielder Alexandra Murphy. But Lynbrook replied with two consecutive goals within the final minute of the first half. Carter, Long Island’s top scorer with 172 points, scored with 53 seconds left on the clock, and Murphy tied the game at 5-5 with two seconds remaining. 

“I see this season as a huge success no matter what today’s score was,”

Tetro said. “We played in Conference II and went 8-1. We beat some teams that were ranked ahead of us. We stuck with a Conference I team, and we beat the No. 4 team to get here.”

Entering the game, Lynbrook had defeated No. 4 South Side 13-12 in a quarterfinal showdown on May 18. An All-County selection with 109 goals and 63 assists this season, Carter scored nine goals in the game, including one to tie with 2:10 left in the second half and the game-winner in overtime. Germanakos had 11 saves and junior middie Sophia LoCicero notched two goals. 

Lynbrook was mistake-prone in a 15-12 loss to South Side in early April, and the Lady Owls looked forward to the rematch, Tetro said. He had scouted South Side’s players and anticipated their game plan against Carter. 

“They face-guarded, doubled teamed and even triple teamed her,” he said. “Essentially, she was beating three girls and she scored nine goals in that game, including to tie and win the game. This is what makes her, hopefully, an All-American.” 

Carter earned Honorable Mention All-American last season and will play at Syracuse next year. 

“Molly’s place on the team is going to be a big hole to fill,” the coach added. “But we have some great young players that next year we’re looking forward to maturing and getting more time on the field.”