Seaford ready for stiff competition

Seaford’s girls’ lacrosse team is facing top competition this spring.

The Lady Vikings moved from Conference IV to the more challenging Conference II for the 2017 regular season after a 14-2 campaign that ended with a heartbreaking 11-10 loss to Oyster Bay in the Nassau County Class C semifinals. The Class C playoffs will also feature a stiffer test with the additions of Wantagh, Plainedge and Lynbrook from Class B to go along with defending champion Cold Spring Harbor. 

“Every game is going to a battle so that should prepare us for the playoff,” said 19th-year head coach Kurt Dankenbrink, who founded the Seaford girls lacrosse program in 1999. “It’s an exciting year.”

Senior co-captains Ally Palermo and Kaitlyn Meyer lead the charge in looking to bring Seaford to its first county title game after multiple near misses in the semifinals. Meyer, a Molloy College commit, is wreaking havoc on opposing offenses earlier in the season with takeaways as a shutdown defensive midfielder. The Northwestern-bound Palermo, who is one of the top attackers on Long Island, tallied six goals in a season-opening 12-11 non-league win against St. John’s the Baptist.

“They lead by example by what they do with their skills and their mouth,” Dankenbrink said of his captains. “They are exceptional leaders.”

Palermo was named to Inside Lacrosse’s Top 40 Young Gun Senior Rankings Watch List in September. Dankenbrink said he has been impressed with how the versatile attacker has continually worked to enhance her game the past four years.

“She’s an amazing athlete,” he said. “She is something else.” 

Seaford has plenty of scoring options on its 19-player roster to complement Palermo including junior attacker Jaclyn Grzelaczyk, an NYIT commit, who scored two goals in a 7-6 loss to Locust Valley on March 27. The Lady Vikings are also receiving strong offensive production from sophomore attackers Gina Toscano and Caitlin Costello as well as freshman attacker Grace Pupke along with freshman midfielder Allison McMahon.

The Lady Vikings boast a stout defense led by Meyer along with juniors Kaitlyn Grzelaczyk, a Mercy College commit, Julia Siler and Melanie Cascio. Senior goalie Jessica Strong has displayed strong play net recording 12 saves in a 9-6 win against Kellenberg on March 22.

“It’s a nice group of kids this year,” Dankenbrink said. “A lot of them play the same sports together so there is great chemistry.”

After opening the season with two straight wins, Seaford dropped narrow contests to South Side (17-14) and Locust Valley (7-6) to enter the first week of April at 2-2. Seaford’s next home game is slated for April 18 against Clarke at 10 a.m. before hosting Calhoun two days later at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Vikings close the regular season with a neighborhood battle versus MacArthur on May 8 at 4:30 p.m.

“Come playoff time it is going to be a battle,” Dankenbrink said. “That is why we want to push them so hard in the regular season.”