Lynbrook sharp as playoffs near

With the playoffs fast approaching, Lynbrook has an opportunity to carry an eight-game winning streak into what appears to be a wide-open Nassau Class C girls’ lacrosse tournament.

The Lady Owls (11-2 overall) entered the regular-season finale winners of seven straight, including five against Conference II rivals, and are likely to be seeded No. 5 or 6 and host a first-round playoff game on May 16.

“If we play our game, we can compete with anyone,” said coach Vin Tetro, who expects Cold Spring Harbor, Wantagh, North Shore and South Side to be the top four seeds in Class C. “We knew Conference II was going to be difficult,” he added. “We won two big games early to get us going and our only loss was a tight three-goal game against South Side.”

Four of Lynbrook’s seven victories dating back to April 12 have come by the slimmest of margins. The streak began with a 15-14 win over Calhoun and includes two-goal decisions over Carle Place, Oceanside and Seaford. “We’ve played a bunch of back-and-forth games,” Tetro said. “Calhoun was one of our biggest of the year. It showed the girls they could win a close one and brought their confidence level back to where it was before the South Side loss.”

Each of the Lady Owls’ top three scorers had a huge hand in the outcome against Calhoun, which got 16 saves from goalie Gigi Kapoosuzian. Senior Molly Carter had six goals and five assists, freshman Elizabeth Murphy added four goals and three assists, and junior Sophia LoCicero scored four goals and assisted on one. 

Averaging 9.2 points per game, Carter has been nothing short of unstoppable all season. The Syracuse-bound attack has 43 goals and 29 assists during the win streak and has a chance to break her own school single-season record for goals in a season before the curtain closes on her outstanding high school career. “Molly amazes every day,” Tetro said. “She does things I’ve never seen before on a lacrosse field and she’s doing it against some of the better teams in the county.”

In 2016, Carter finished with 86 goals and 40 assists. With a minimum of two games remaining this spring, she’s at 74 goals and 49 assists and her 123 points leads all of Long Island.

Murphy (25 goals, 15 assists) has emerged as viable scoring option on the attack in her first varsity campaign, Tetro said. “She’s been burning teams when they choose to double Molly,” he noted.

LoCicero (35 goals, 19 assists) is spearheading the midfield along with senior Kerrin Montgomery, a key on draws and in the defensive end, and junior Gina Giovinco, who is thriving in a shutdown assignment role. “They all do such a great job for us between the 30s,” Tetro said.

Junior Hope Germanakos has been a difference-maker in goal, especially in wins over Oyster Bay (16 saves), Carle Place (14), and Seaford (14.) Seniors Jenna Marrandino and Rachel Foley lead the in-close defense.