South Side is No. 2 seed

During the final week of the regular season, South Side got a good taste of what the intensity level will be like when the Nassau Class A girls’ soccer playoffs open this Friday with eight first-round games at the higher seeds.

The Lady Cyclones lost 2-1 to defending county champion Garden City at home last Friday and battled Conference A-I champion Division to a 1-1 draw on the road last Monday. Facing the third- and first-place teams so late in the season will help prepare for the playoffs, South Side coach Shannon McEntee said.

“We’re definitely better prepared for the playoffs compared to last year,” said McEntee, citing a more challenging conference schedule that concluded with a game at New Hyde Park. “Nobody liked the way last year ended. The girls have worked hard all season and I’m confident in our ability to go far.

“The scores aren’t indicative of how we’ve played,” she added. “With the exception of finishing, we’ve played really well.”

The goalposts haven’t been kind, McEntee said, and that was especially the case for sophomore Kelsey Ford in the loss to Garden City, which last fall ended the Lady Cyclones’ amazing 13-year county title run. Ford managed to hit each post twice. Freshman Victoria Reis scored two minutes into the game and South Side (8-2-3 overall) led 1-0 at halftime, however Addie Zebrowski and Kayla Murphy tallied the second half to earn the Lady Trojans a split of the season series.

Against Division, the Lady Cyclones did their best to limit the Lady Dragons’ corner kick opportunities but it only took one. Krista Fitzpatrick, who assisted on both Division goals off corners in a 2-0 win in the first meeting, found the net directly from the corner this time and it took a goal from sophomore Christina Klaum to gain the tie for South Side.

“She’s very good at what she does,” McEntee said of Fitzpatrick. “If we see Division again, we can’t allow any corners. It’s their biggest weapon.”

Division is the No. 1 playoff seed, followed by South Side and Garden City. Though McEntee didn’t want to speculate on her team’s first-round opponent, something completely up in the air heading into the regular-season finales, she said taking care of business around the cage is a key to regaining the crown.

“It’s going to come down to our ability to score,” she said. “I believe it’s that simple. Our ball control is excellent.”

Klaum leads the team in goals with eight, followed by Reis, juniors Michaela Lynch and Meghan Hines, and freshmen Kayla Hospodka and Keri Cavallo with three apiece. On the defensive side, junior goalkeeper Kelsey Berki has been solid working behind a group led by Kelsey and senior Samantha Ford, senior Caitlin Wallace and freshman Tessa Considine.