North Shore in playoff mode

After completing their season with an 8-7 record in a tough Nassau Girls Conference I, the North Shore Lady Vikings lacrosse team chases a county title in this year’s playoffs.

With a tough team and the correct approach both in practice and execution on the field, this North Shore unit led by captains Alana Greene, Ashleigh Sheerin and Quinn Lacy wants to leave a legacy and their imprint this season.

Successfully snagging the No. 3 seed in the Class C playoff bracket, the Lady Vikings earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs. “We earned the bye and our girls were looking forward to a matchup in the quarterfinals,” coach Meghan McCormack said. “We drew Locust Valley and our girls did not take them lightly at all. They were focused and set on advancing.”

North Shore accomplished just that with a 10-6 victory over No. 7 Locust Valley. Hannah Moran finished the game with four goals and Greene, one of the trio of captains, finished with a trio of points (one goal, two assists) to aid her team en route to a decisive playoff victory. 

The success of the Lady Vikings also lies within their diverse attack. In their first playoff game against Locust Valley, North Shore had a total of 8 players that collected at least a point.

One of those players was defender Selena Fortich, who tallied two points and was considered a key piece of this team’s defense according to coach McCormack. “She’s a big time defender for us. She has made a bunch of big stops and some in transition as well. She’s been very important defensive player.” McCormack said.

April Rowell was another defensive player that McCormack was adamant about throwing praise towards.

“Our defensive play has been great and it has sparked our offense as well through the transition game, which has improved a lot,” McCormack said.

That transition game and diversity of attacks towards the cage was to be the ammunition for a hard fought battle with constant rival Cold Spring Harbor in the semifinals, after press time.

“Cold Spring Harbor has always been a competitive team and has been a constant rival of ours for a few years now. Their program is really good, but we’ve played them and beat them already this season,” McCormack said proudly. “We want this. We know what it takes and we do not underestimate any of our opponents.”

The sense of leadership on this squad is also very strong. Within the confines of practice, the captains take it upon themselves to split the team up and keep everybody focused on drills and scrimmages. McCormack said there’s constant chatter at practice that builds a feverish collective passion when game time rolls around.

Although skill and dedication to the sport is a focus at North Shore High School, the program also uses its reach in the community for some truly commendable causes. Earlier on in the season, the girls lacrosse program hosted a Make-A-Wish dedicated game in which they raised over $1000 for the foundation.

While practicing for their playoff run, the Lady Vikings were politely and shockingly interrupted last week, aptly being awarded and presented a plaque from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.