Senioritis: New Hyde Park Girls Lacrosse Takes Out Host Kennedy on Senior Day

The New Hyde Park girls lacrosse team spoiled senior day for host Kennedy on Tuesday afternoon, as the Gladiators used a big second half to roll past the Cougars in the Conference B-II game, 18-10.

Kristen Lynch finished with four goals and five assists for New Hyde Park, while sophomore Jillian Graziano had six goals and three assists and Laura Rice added four goals.

All of Kennedy's scoring was done by just three players. Morgan Kitton and Brittany Mascaro each finished with three goals, while sophomore Kerri Baum had four.

The Gladiators, who led 8-6 at the half, went on a 9-1 run in the second half to open up the lead. The game-deciding run really got underway after Kitton went down with a hip injury for Kennedy. Lynch and Graziano paced the offense and gave New Hyde Park a 14-8 lead.

After Baum received a yellow card, Kitton returned, but quickly received a yellow card of her own, which put the Cougars down one player for the rest of the game and sealed the win for New Hyde Park.

"My girls, they're awesome, they just needed a little pep talk," New Hyde Park head coach Lorin Wirth said. "When they communicate on the field, they're so much better. It's like a domino effect, one person talks and then the next person talks and it just gets them going -- that's what really helps them."

Score: New Hyde Park 18, Kennedy 10

Records: New Hyde Park 3-3 (8-6); Kennedy 1-5 (6-6)

Heroes:  Lynch and Graziano combined for an incredible 18 points and were a factor throughout every stage of the game.

"They're both phenomenal," Wirth said of her superstars. "I'm very luck to have both of them."

Turning Point: Although Kitton's injury only kept her out for five minutes, it was more than enough for the Gladiators to open up a comfortable lead.

Quotable: "We played really hard, I think that they just got in our heads in the second half," Kennedy head coach Keri Andree said. "With Morgan going down in the second half and then couple of yellow cards ... between that and a couple of the little mishaps that they had as far as grounders went and some poor passes that were made, I think that New Hyde Park got in our heads."

Bottom Line: With the win, New Hyde Park moves into third in Conference B-II. The top four teams make the playoffs and the Gladiators look like they have secured a spot.

A few tough calls put the Cougars in a bad spot in the "do or die" portion of the game. The loss officially drops Kennedy out of playoff contention.

"I definitely think that my team is a much better team than they showed in the second half," Andree said. "It's unfortunate that you couldn't see that though."

Box Score

New Hyde Park (Goals-Assists): Graziano 6-3, Lynch 4-5, Rice 4-0, McCullagh 3-0, Peveraro 1-3, Bisciello 0-1; Totals: 18-12. Kennedy (Goals-Assists): Baum 4-0, Mascaro 3-1, Kitton 3-0, Klein 0-2; Totals: 10-3.

New Hyde Park (Shots-Saves): DeSanna 19-9. Kennedy (Shots-Saves): Kraut 30-12.