Seaford beats top-seeded Wantagh in OT

Fresh off a perfect run to the Nassau Conference AB4 title, Seaford continued a magical season on the girls’ soccer pitch with a stunning upset of No. 1 seed Wantagh in the Class A playoffs last Saturday.

The Lady Vikings, seeded No. 17 in the 20-team tournament, got an overtime goal from sophomore defender Alexandra Leggio to eliminate the Lady Warriors, 3-2. Junior Olivia Pearse assisted on all three goals, with the winner coming off a corner kick. Leggio headed it home three minutes into the first of two 10-minute mandatory OTs.

“We limped into the playoffs a little bit, but these girls just don’t give up,” coach Ken Botti said after Seaford improved to 16-1 overall. “I don’t think a lot of people gave us a chance, but we believed,” he added. “We did play some close games during the season that taught us how to handle pressure.”

Juniors Taylor Slyvester and Ashley Sidoti also scored for the Lady Vikings, who advanced to face No. 8 MacArthur in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night after press time, with a spot in this Saturday’s semifinals at Cold Spring Harbor on the line. Seaford sophomore goalkeeper Maddy Catalanotti made nine saves. Kararina King scored both goals for Wantagh, which captured the Conference A1 crown with a 6-2-4 mark.

“In August we set two goals for the season,” Botti explained. “The first was to make the playoffs and the second was to win the conference. Now we’ll see how far we can take it.”

Slyvester gave Seaford the early lead but it trailed 2-1 at halftime. Sidoti’s tying goal came 15 minutes into the second half after Botti moved her back to forward with the offense struggling. Sidoti began the season at striker before switching to midfield to fill a void created by an injury to sophomore starter Antionetta Buffolino.

Two weeks before losing Buffolino, the Lady Vikings had to rearrange their defense because of an injury to sophomore Emma Williamson. Senior Jolie Kistinger went from the midfield to the back, joining Leggio, Abby Kossmann and Jenna Moraglia.

“We were able to adjust and incredibly we didn’t miss a beat,” Botti said. “That’s a sign of a really good team.”

A handful of JV call-ups, including sophomore Leila Schwartz, who found the back of the net a few times, bolstered the roster heading into the playoffs.

Seaford defeated No. 16 seed Jericho, 3-1, in an outbracket playoff game Oct. 24. Pearse had a hat trick, giving her 21 goals on the year. Seniors Ally McMahon and Alyssa Verderosa have also stood out in the two playoff games, Botti said. “It’s great to see because many of these girls have been in the program for four or five years,” he said.