Wantagh pushing for Class A crown

In its second season competing in Conference A/B 1, Wantagh girls’ soccer is striving for a deeper playoff push that culminates in a championship.

After earning the top seed for the Class A playoffs, Wantagh was bounced in the semifinals by neighborhood rival Seaford, 3-1, to fall one win short of competing for a title. The Warriors bring back a core group from last season’s 7-3-3 team poised to script a better ending.

“We want to be in the top four in that conference to get locked into a good playoff seed,” said 14-year coach James Polo.“We've been knocking on the door so it's time to go in and kick it down.”

Wantagh returns key starters on offense in junior Shannon Udell and senior Juliana Cerasi, who is committed to play college lacrosse at James Madison University. Udell tallied a goal and an assist in Wantagh’s 3-1 home win against Floral Park on Sept. 11 while Cerasi tallied the Warriors’ lone score in 2-1 season opening loss at North Shore on Sept. 7.

The offense is also aided by sophomore outside midfielders Kayla Mannix and Kylie Coners, who got plenty of playing time on varsity as freshman last fall.

The defense is anchored by junior goalkeeper Gabriella Astaiza, who takes the reins in net from her older sister Isabella Astazia, who started for four seasons. Astaiza recorded six saves in the North Shore match.

The backline in front of Astaiza features sophomore Ava Barberio and junior Katelyn Baudo controlling the middle as central defenders.

Senior Lyla Ingrilli, who is sidelined this fall due to an ACL injury suffered during the lacrosse season, remains involved with the team providing leadership as one of four captains with Cerasi, Udell and Baudo.

“We have some good leadership from kids who have been with me for awhile now,” Polo said of his captains.. “They understand what the expectations are and that's half the battle getting them on the same page with what we want to accomplish and what the work ethic and level is that we need to reach in order to attain it.”

Wantagh concluded last week with a 5-2 non-league loss to Garden City, last year’s Class AA runner-up who were coming off early season wins against South Side and MacArthur. Wantagh led 2-1 at halftime on goals by Mannix and Coners. Sophomore goalie Ella Perfetti also shined in net with 15 saves.

The Warriors will host Seaford in a rematch of last year’s Class A semifinals on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Wantagh will then return home to face Calhoun Wednesday for a 5 p.m. kickoff before traveling to nearby Plainedge for a Saturday morning kickoff on Sept. 28.

“I think this group has potential to reach great heights and it’s a matter of whether they take this opportunity and run with it,” Polo said. “Opportunities like this don't happen often and I want to keep making sure that they're aware of that and know of the potential of this to be a very successful season.”