North Shore is plenty motivated
The taste still is bitter for the way it ended last season.
North Shore’s girls’ soccer team lost, 1-0, in the Class A semifinals to Plainedge, which went on to win the county title.
The Vikings feel they were robbed because of two disallowed goals. One of them came off the foot of eighth-grader Alessia Marotta in the final seconds. It didn’t count as it was ruled the ball crossed the goal line as the final horn blared.
The North Shore coaching staff has replayed the video of that final sequence numerous times and contend the horn inadvertently sounded with 3 seconds left. Hence the goal should’ve been allowed to tie the contest.
“It was devastating,’’’ said coach Lauren Gotta, now in her 20th season.
The good news is North Shore looks as strong as last season’s defensive-oriented squad that finished at 6-3.
“To say we’re coming back with a chip on our shoulders is an understatement,”’ Gotta said.
With a system change and unprecedented depth, Gotta hopes The Maroon are more prolific as goal scorers than the 2023 team that won with defense, The Vikings allowed just 11 goals in nine games last season.
“Part of our goal this year is to get ahead with more goals,’’ Gotta said. “We didn’t score enough last year. Part of it was the system we used. We tried to create a system because we were defensively heavy. This year, we’re changing the system to try to attack more. We want to put more numbers on the attack ‘’
The season opened with two non-league games last week with North Shore tying Manhasset 2-2 before losing 1-0 to Cold Spring Harbor. The Vikings opened conference play in style last Saturday with a 2-1 win over Wantagh.
Returning to lead the charge are two senior all-county Honorable Mentions in attacking midfielder Crystal Knoell and striker Sam DiBenedetto
A senior committed to Adelphi, Knoell is their most versatile player and scored 7 goals last season. “She can dribble, sees the field,’’ Gotta said. “She has long legs that she can attack and defend, She can shoot, space – a great attack-minded midfielder.’’
DiBenedetto, who will play at Scranton, will be looked upon to score more this season than the half-dozen she mustered in 2023.
Youth dominates the rest of the roster. “We have a lot of young kids,’’ Gotta said. “A lot of kids we brought up as 8th graders are now freshman and they’ll be on the field.’’
Junior Isa Guerrero is another impact player – a defensive midfielder. “She is in the middle of the field,’’ Gotta said. “She’s like just awesome, right on the ball. She’s smart. Every year she gets better.’’
Another junior, Erin Lily La Rosa is a unique striker, minus the finesse of some others at her position. She had both goals in the win over Wantagh. “She’s just a bull, relentless and will run through you,’’ Gotta said. “She’s able to body people off of her and she’s really good in the air. She brings a different dynamic to the kids around her.’’
Zoe Carillo is a sophomore centerback who plays “super aggressive,’’ says Gotta.
The Sea Cliff/Glen Head school’s new starting goalkeeper is technically sound sophomore Charlotte Healy, who was last year’s backup. “She’s probably one of the best goalies we’ve had in a long time,’’ Gotta said.
With no JV, depth serves as a strength. “We have 22 kids and 1-to-22, we should get every kid on the field,’’ Gotta said. “And certainly 1-thru-16 are all good enough to start. We’re deeper than ever, more well-rounded.’’
