Mepham Girls Soccer Draw Against Defending State Champ Massapequa

When the Mepham girls soccer team previewed their 2011 schedule, their road game against Massapequa was one that was immediately circled.

On Thursday afternoon, the Lady Pirates (1-2-1, 1-2-1) walked away from McKenna Elementary School in Massapequa Park with a huge 1-1 tie against the Lady Chiefs (3-0-1, 3-0-1).

Last season, Massapequa, the defending New York State champions, experienced an undefeated season en route to the title. Mepham went through the regular season unscathed with an undefeated record as well, but eventually fell in the playoffs by way of an upset to Oceanside. 

“We came in knowing we were going to have to play a really defensive game, but take advantage of any opportunity we were given,” Mepham head coach Sam Foronjy said. “This was the game that was pretty much going to determine how good of a team we were. We know we have what it takes to go the distance.”

Massapequa looked dominant in the opening minutes, creating multiple chances and limiting the Mepham opportunities on net. However, despite the effort, the teams went into halftime with a scoreless tie.

In the 57^th minute, Chiefs’ junior Rosie DiMartino nearly gave the defending champs the lead, but Pirates’ senior goalkeeper Alexa Rinaudo stopped the hard shot for one of her season-high 15 saves.

Just two minutes later, Mepham’s Ashley Appel put a shot past Massapequa sophomore goalkeeper Katie Hatziyianis to give her team a 1-0 lead. With the pressure on and an undefeated streak in jeopardy, DiMartino found the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1 with 15 minutes remaining. 

With mere minutes left, Massapequa sophomore Taylor Kugler was tripped at the edge of the box, but was granted a free kick instead of what was thought to be a penalty kick. In the 78^th minute, Mepham sophomore defender Emily Schmitt deflected a shot away to preserve the dramatic tie.

“I thought we played pretty well. I think we had a lot of chances but were a little impatient taking shots,” Massapequa head coach Bruce Stegner said. “We dominated the game and showed a lot of heart at the end, working hard to try to get back and try to get the lead, but you have to give them credit for doing what they had to do.”

Mepham will play host to East Meadow (1-4-0, 1-3-0) next on Monday at 4:30 p.m. Massapequa will play their next game against MacArthur (2-1-0, 2-1-0) on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. at SUNY Farmingdale.