Monday, June 23, 2025
The Lynbrook girls’ lacrosse team is trying to break a 10-year absence from Adelphi.
Off to a flying 10-3 start, bolstered by a formidable offense, coach Joe LaBarbera's Owls are aiming to get to the Nassau County final four for the school's first time in a decade.
Last season, in LaBarbera's first season as coach, Lynbrook lost in the Nassa County Class C quarterfinals to Wantagh.
"Our goal after the game against Wantagh we set as a team is to get to Adelphi,'' LaBarbera said of the site of the semifinals and finals. "That's what we were striving for all offseason. It was our fuel. We want to get to Adelphi. We want to be playing our best lacrosse heading into May. We’re hitting our stride and hope to continue our momentum.''
The Owls had their five-game winning streak snapped by Mepham on May 3 in a 13-10 loss but still boast an 8-2 conference record.
Lynbrook has two regular-season games left - Wednesday versus Plainedge and Friday against Port Washington.
"It's been great,'' LaBarbera said. "We're still a young team on the defensive end. A work in progess with that. Offensively we have a lot of senior leadership.''
Lynbrook is boosted by four prominent seniors who have all committed to play college lacrosse.
The leading performer is senior midfielder Brooke Mazzei, who has racked up 42 goals, 16 assists. She's also clutch on faceoff ground balls in collecting over 50 draw controls. Mazzei was the superstar of the basketball team, too, but has decided to play lacrosse in college at Temple. LaBarbera feels she could've easily played college basketball, too, calling Mazzei "a freak athlete.''
"She's all over the field offensively and defensively,'' LaBarbera said. "She's able to create offense for herself. When the defense is readying for her, it opens up a lot for the others. She's a spark for the whole team.''
The facilitator is junior midfielder Sophie Deifel, who is a terror on faceoffs. Deifel, who takes every draw, has a draw-control count of 68 through 12 games. An early Binghamton commit, Deifel also has pumped in 27 goals with 6 assists.
"The majority of the draws go to herself,'' LaBarbera said. "The offense starts from midfield with those two (Deifel, Mazzei). They can lock down defensively and are our sparkplugs.''
But this is a deep attack – a team averaging 12 goals per game in building a Conference 2 record of 8-1.
Senior attackers Olivia Palleschi, (20 goals, 11 assists) and Penelope Yaker (25, 12) and are having terrific seasons. Palleschi is committed to Vassar and Yaker to Stone Hill College. "Olivia and Penelope work hand in hand on the right side,'' LaBarbera said. "They've been working at that spot the last two years. They work great and find girls who are open. They're great feeders and can create offense with their dodges.''
Though she doesn't score as much, senior Luci Miata is also helping out as an attacker, scoring 6 goals with 19 assists. She will attend Dominican.
Playing behind a young defense that has two freshmen starters, sophomore goalie Delia Kirkpatrick has enjoyed a stellar season, making 79 saves, owning a
60 percent save percentage. She split time as a freshman.
"She's been amazing,'' LaBarbera said. "We're lucky to have her for the next few years.''
The leader of the defense is junior Payton Stalter but it's a young crew getting better. The Owls have already clinched a quarterfinal spot as the fifth or sixth seed with Adelphi in the distance.
