Girls Lax Defeats Tough Wantagh Team

The Lady Trojans have been nothing but consistent this season. They have consistently ended up on the winning side of the scoreboard with 10 straight wins. The hard fought victory on Monday over Wantagh is the first of several key matches as they close out the regular season and head for the playoffs. They will now face Farmingdale, Cold Spring Harbor, St. Anthony's and finally Shoreham-Wading River to close out the season.

One of the biggest factors to their consistent winning has been the fact that their defense has consistently clamped down on teams in the second half of games. For the season the girls are only allowing an average of three goals after the halftime adjustments of coach Chapman, and that includes a couple of overtime wins. Goalie Taylor Carpentier has been solid on the season, but was exceptional in the game against Wantagh. Carpentier came up with 13 saves with the most important being a point blank save that ignited the attack for the key goal with less than ten minutes to play to put GC up 10-6.

But a goalie alone cannot win games, most winning teams are built on a foundation of a strong defensive unit because as the saying goes "offense sells tickets, defense wins championships." And this year's Garden City team has that solid foundation, being led throughout the season by captains Linda Marie Attanasio, Dartmouth bound and Carly Knowles, headed to Quinnipiac.

Teaming with their two captains on the back line are Charlotte Castronovo, Elizabeth Furman and Melanie McHugh, Boston University, Holy Cross and Elon, respectively. Often times these are names not seen on the score sheet but without the work of this unheralded group the Trojans may not be on top of the standings. 

Consistent has also been the fact that the team has adapted their offense to the game at hand as Chappy has an abundance of scoring threats to work the ball to. Against Wantagh it was Haley O'Hanlon scoring four goals and Krista Dampman three, while in previous games it's been Jackie Jahelka, Tara DeAngelo or Margot McTiernan leading the way on the score sheet. O'Hanlon has been a key factor late in several games with some critical second-half goals, while Jahelka and Dampman have been the leading scorers on the season.

NOTE: The Garden City girls lacrosse program has been blessed with many tremendous players over the past few years. This is no more than evidenced by the fact that three of the alumni from two years ago are in the top 25 nominees for the Tewaaratan Award. In the running for the top collegiate lacrosse player in the nation are Notre Dame's Barbara Sullivan, Boston College's Mikaela Rix and Georgetown's Caroline Tarzian. The winners from both the men's and women's nominees will be announced on May 30 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.