Conference title for West Hempstead

A remarkable season on the soccer pitch came to a disappointing end for No. 13 West Hempstead as it fell to No. 4 Wantagh, 2-1, in a Nassau Class A opening round playoff game at Wantagh High School last Saturday. Jordyn Klapper’s goal with just three minutes to play gave Wantagh a commanding 2-0 lead. West Hempstead keeper Jackie Christenson had eight saves in the loss.

Melissa Horn opened the scoring for Wantagh in the first half off a pass from Tori Flaherty, and it appeared the 1-0 score would hold up as scoring opportunities were scarce for both teams. After Klapper’s tally gave the Lady Warriors a two-goal lead, junior Lisa Waterhouse scored to give West Hempstead hope. But, West Hempstead’s upset bid would be denied.

West Hempstead coach Mike Scaturro was disappointed to see the season come to an end, but pleased with the effort. “We actually played real well against a very good team,” Scaturro said. “We had a game plan, and we stuck with it. We held them down and limited their chances. But, we just didn’t get many opportunities. They made it real difficult for us to generate any scoring chances.”

West Hempstead, which won its second conference title in four seasons going 10-1-1 in Conference A-3, finished with an overall record of 12-2-1. The only blemish in conference play was a 1-0 loss to Roslyn. The Rams outscored their opponents by a margin of 41-11. 

Nina Boria, one of nine seniors who will be moving on, had a tremendous season. Boria, who earned All-County honors, scored a league-leading 15 goals, and was voted the Conference Player of the Year. She finished third in the county in goals scored.

Christenson was an All-Conference recipient. The senior goalie had 71 saves on the season, and posted seven shutouts. A strong defensive unit, comprising Taylor Freiermuth, Jamie Rodriguez, Kaitlin Augustine, and Reina Maldonado played a key role in keeping opponents at bay. During a stretch late in the season, the Rams registered consecutive shutouts against Seaford, Levittown Division, and Bethpage.

Seniors Taryn Squiciarino, Brittany Schimmenti, and Freiermuth, and freshman Lisette Palomo all earned All-Classification honors. Palomo scored nine goals and added four assists. Freiermuth led the team with seven helpers. Waterhouse finished the season with five goals and six assists. Freshman Natalia Roberts had four goals and three assists.

Scaturro is going to miss this group of seniors, many of whom he has coached since they attended middle school. “Every team is special, but this one is one of the best I have ever had in so many ways,” Scaturro said. “I have had some of them since the eighth grade. To get this program where it is now, from where it was, is pretty incredible. Seven of the seniors won two conference championships, and made the playoffs three out of four years. It’s tough to go out this way, but this senior class had a lot of success over their years here.”