New road ahead for Lynbrook

Lynbrook girls’ lacrosse will face some new challenges come playoff time with a move to Nassau Class C, where defending county champion Cold Spring Harbor tops a list of contenders that includes Wantagh, another former Class B team, and Seaford.

The Lady Owls won a dozen games in 2016, including a Class B first-round playoff win over MacArthur, and returned a lot of pieces. In Conference II under Nassau’s ability based alignment, Lynbrook opened the new campaign with a 10-6 victory over Oyster Bay on March 27.

“I go back-and-forth when it comes to ability grouping,” Lady Owls head coach Vin Tetro said. “Part of me likes the idea of playing teams around the same school size.”

A drop to Class C means Lynbrook won’t have to go through perennial powerhouses Garden City and Manhasset once the playoffs get rolling in May. Garden City defeated the Lady Owls 12-4 in last year’s quarterfinals. “There are new obstacles,” Tetro said. “But it seems like we’ve had to worry about Garden City forever.”

Lynbrook’s roster is full of experienced talent, led by Nassau’s leading goal-scorer and point-producer, Syracuse-bound attack Molly Carter. Last spring, she set program single-season records for goals (86) and points (126) on the way to earning Honorable Mention All-America recognition and a second straight All-County award. “Molly’s a relentless worker who has the best stick skills of any high school girls’ lacrosse player I’ve seen,” Tetro said. “Nobody can cover her one-on-one.”

Junior center-midfielder Sophia LoCicero is a two-way standout with a commitment to East Carolina. She scored 39 goals and assisted on 28 last year while earning All-County honors. “Sophia’s a vital part of everything we do,” Tetro said. “She’s got the ability to dominate. She’s our face-off girl and a key to our transition attack.”

Senior Kerrin Montgomery (24 goals) leads the middle of Lynbrook’s zone and is taking on more of a defensive role given a season-ending knee injury to senior Karaline Bartels. Seniors Jenna Marrandino and Rachel Foley switched positions to bolster the low defense, while sophomore Jessica Woll is a returning starter at D-wing. 

Junior goalkeeper Hope Germanakos totaled 25 wins over the past two seasons and came up big in the conference opener with 16 saves against Oyster Bay. “She’s a game-changer,” Tetro said. “She’s athletic and quick.”

Germanakos is also keen with outlet passes, the coach said, and finding LoCicero or junior midfielder Gina Giovinco on the fly makes the Lady Owls dangerous in transition. Giovinco’s speed between the 30s is unequaled, he said. Senior Emily Murray is already thriving in a bigger role in the midfield.

Freshman Elizabeth Murray is making her presence felt as a young lefty attack. She had four goals against Oyster Bay. Sophomore Casey Kaplan is an excellent playmaker, and sophomore Jillian Padilla cracked the starting lineup up front.

“I’ve been preaching consistency since the first day of practice,” said Tetro, who expects Oceanside and South Side to be the biggest hurdles in Conference II.