North Shore finishing strong

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Since the 2019 North Shore girls’ soccer team started losing four of its first six games in a tough Conference AB2, it has started to turn the tide by winning three of its last four.

The team most recently collected a 1-0 victory on the road against Cold Spring Harbor. Isabella Tedesco successful netted a penalty kick with just over 30 minutes left to play in regulation. Giuliana Graziosi sealed the victory with seven saves and sent North Shore back home with some momentum heading into a game against Bethpage, which handed the Lady Vikings their third loss back on Oct. 17.

On Oct. 4, North Shore couldn’t hold on as Reilley Turowski of Plainedge scored the game winner in the closing minute of regulation in a tight matchup where Tedesco, Morgan Griffin, and Evelyn McCreery netted goals. North Shore began its turnaround with a two-game winning streak on the road before that at Lynbrook (5-1 win) and Bellmore JFK (4-0 win.)

“I’m happy with the progress that we’ve been making since the start of the season,” said Lady Vikings coach Lauren Gotta. “Both our substitutes and our starters have been making strides to be better and play better together.”

The focus for Gotta has been for her substitutes to provide a well-needed spark in this mid-season stretch. North Shore has had to turn its season around without starters Ashton Guss and Ryleigh Gilligan. The pair has been out due to injury, and the rest of the team has had to step up to fill their cleats.

One such player has been forward Evelyn McCreery. The talented sophomore was not able to showcase her talent last year as a freshman due to a foot injury that kept her out of play. Thus far this year, she has accumulated nine points on the season, she is one of the team’s leaders in the category and is a main facilitating factor for their offense.

“She is dynamic up top, and she is so good,” Gotta said. “I sometimes have to yell at her to stop being so selfless. She really doesn’t want to have five goals; she would rather make the pass to one of her teammates for her to score. I have had a lot of really good attackers over the years, and she is the next in that great line.”

McCreery, only a sophomore, has a little less than a third of this season and two more ensuing to prove her coach’s words true.

The team as a whole is preparing for the rematch with Bethpage, as it looks for retribution for the early season defeat.

“They are working as hard as they can, every minute they are out there,” Gotta said. “They are the most coachable team I have ever had. They are a bunch of good kids, they apply everything I say, they ask questions, and they take feedback.”

North Shore has four games remaining: at home vs Bethpage, at Manhasset, at MacArthur, and home vs Lynbrook.

“We’re looking to upset some teams,” Gotta said. “But it all starts with the next matchup.”