Monday, May 19, 2025
The Malverne/East Rockaway girls’ lacrosse team is proving last year was just an aberration.
After winning just two games in 2024, it suddenly finds itself in a battle for the Conference IV title with two other schools as the regular season enters its final two weeks. The Rockin’ Mules have won six in a row through last weekend’s action, including one by forfeit, since losing at Clarke on April 2.
The Rockin’ Mules visit Valley Stream District and host struggling Herricks before their huge battle with first-place Wheatley (10-1, 9-0 conference) at Old Westbury on May 5 in a game that could decide the division.
“I think the girls have to get in the mindset that they can do it and then they just have to play their game,” Malverne/East Rockaway coach Casey Capece said. “I definitely think they can do it, but they have to think that in their heads.”
Malverne/East Rockaway holds a half-game lead over Island Trees (8-2) in the standings, but the Rockin’ Mules hold the tiebreaker after holding off the Bulldogs 10-9 in a very physical contest on April 22. Nicole Buzzetta scored four times, including what proved to be the game-winner on a play-through drive with 2:44 left, fellow senior Valentina Proto added three goals and two assists, and freshman goalie Eliana Morant withstood a late Island Trees flurry and finished with a season-high 20 saves.
“The fact that the girls came out on top in a game that was so violent, I was not going to sleep at all that night if we lost that game,” Capece said.
Buzzetta tallied three more times in a 13-4 rout of Elmont April 24 and leads the team with 23 goals and 30 points. She had just seven goals and nine points as a junior.
“This year, she has been a completely different player,” Capece said. “She’s been a leader on the field. Offensively, she’s done amazing for us. I’m really happy that things worked out and she’s a major part of our offense.”
Proto recorded her fourth hat trick of the spring with three more goals against Elmont and has 18 markers with six assists. Freshman Mia Vetere (10-3-13) and junior Makayla Boubert (12-1-13) also had three goals apiece against the Spartans and have provided scoring depth along with freshman Leyla Montrose (6-2-8) and sophomore Colleen Lynch (8-1-9.)
Seniors Sophia Croce and Julia Giannotti, sophomore Caitlin Lynch and freshman Angie Williams have been key contributors to a defensive corps that is among the stingiest in the conference with an average of just under six goals allowed this season.
Morant is also a big reason why the Rockin’ Mules have allowed just 47 goals by surpassing the 80-save mark after stopping 70 as an eighth grader. Her other big games were a 14-save effort in a 14-4 win over Sewanhaka in the season opener, a shutout at Hempstead on April 8, and a 13-save performance in a 14-11 victory over Freeport on April 14.
