Wantagh recaptures county crown

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Wantagh girls’ lacrosse has returned to the top of the summit.

The Lady Warriors captured their second county title in three years on Wednesday evening with a convincing 15-9 win against Cold Spring Harbor in the Class C final at Adelphi's Motamed Field. The program's second ever county crown since its founding 20 years ago moves Wantagh to the Long Island Class C title game Sunday a year after a crushing overtime semifinal loss to Manhasset thwarted a repeat attempt.

"Last year we were cut a little bit short so to being able to fulfill a championship this year feels fantastic," said junior midfielder Kayla Conway, who scored three goals including the first two tallies of the game. "It felt amazing."

Wantagh struck early and often on the championship stage running out to a 7-0 advantage 11:08 into the game. The Lady Warriors, who fell to Cold Spring Harbor 5-4 in the teams' regular season meeting on March 28, received balanced first half offensive production with two goals each from Taylor Carson, Ally Murphy, Megan Gordon and Conway to help create a 9-3 halftime lead. Time of possession was dominated by Wantagh thanks to winning 12 of 13 draw controls led by Conway at the center circle.

"I practice the draws a lot so I was able to execute them and get to exactly where I wanted them to," Conway said. "Possession was key."

Wantagh controlled the draws again in the second half finishing with a 20-6 advantage for the game. The extra possessions allowed the Lady Warriors to generate more scoring chances in a balanced scoring effort led by four goals from Murphy as well as three apiece by Conway, Carson and eighth grader Sabrina Caruso. Gordon also flourished with eight points on two goals and six assists.

"I'm extremely proud of these girls the way the practiced, the way they prepared and the way they came and played," said first-year head coach Greg Cody. "They earned it."

Wantagh's defense anchored by senior goalie Emma Lemanski held Cold Spring Harbor's offensive to single digits. Lemanski finished with 10 saves in front of defenders Taylor Rossi, Danielle Carson, Anna Kaufmann and Gabby Cesaro.

Wantagh will next look capture the program's first Long Island crown Sunday against Suffolk County Class C champion Mount Sinai back at Adelphi for a 2:30 opening draw. Mount Sinai, the two-time defending state champions, went 15-2 and captured the Suffolk title with a 9-6 win against Bayport-Blue Point. A win Sunday would advance Wantagh to the state semifinals on June 9 at SUNY Cortland with a chance to create more history.