Division Girls Top Island Trees in Class A Playoff Soccer Battle

"Playoff game" doesn't adequately describe Tuesday's Class A girls soccer quarterfinal between Division and Island Trees. The soccer pitch was more like a war zone.

Words were exchanged. Tackles were hard. Players were sent flying. In the end, the Blue Dragons stayed focused, converted the chances they created off set pieces and claimed a 3-0 victory over the Lady Dawgs.

"We're not the best soccer players, but we're quick and we're tough on the ball," said Division head coach Steve Kissane. "They found that out today. I think they underestimated us. We didn't underestimate them."

The Blue Dragons converted the first real chance for either team in the 19th minute. A long throw led to a through ball that found Ariana Weingrad in the box, who put it past goalie Brianna Ferrara for the lead.

The first portion of the second half was tight as well, but another set piece pushed Division to 2-0 in the 57th minute. Fitzpatrick sent a corner into the box that found the head of Schneider to beat Ferrara. They added a third in the 70th minute when a Fitzpatrick corner sailed past everyone and curled into the net.

The biggest reason for Division's victory was the play of their back line. Both team's defense was airtight for the most part, with Division being led by sweeper Alexa Schneider ("I think [she's] the best defender in the county," said Kissane) and Island Trees by Bridget Vilbig. The difference was that Division was able to get chances through on set pieces, while Island Trees had trouble breaking through the Blue Dragons' back line at all.

Kissane knew that the Lady Dawgs have plenty of speed at forward, particularly from forward Allie Merrill, and he developed a strategy to contain it. "We were counting her to be real quick up front," he said. "We put Alyssa Fiore in front of her and Alexa Schneider behind her."

That combination effectively neutralized Merrill, as well as Island Trees' offensive attack altogether. The Lady Dawgs only registered two real chances on net, and they both came late. Their best chance came in the 63rd minute, when a corner fell to Alexa Dolgos. Dolgos's shot, however, was cleared off the line by a Division defender, and the ensuing corner resulted in a goal kick.

Other than that chance and a late chance where she misjudged a ball, Division goalie Gina Fader was untested, holding on for her tenth shutout of the season. "It was a record for us at six," said Kissane, "and now at 10, it's been a pretty good year."

The top-seeded Blue Dragons will play Plainedge in the Class A semis. That match will be at Denton Avenue School in New Hyde Park on Saturday at 3 p.m. Island Trees finishes their season as the Conference A-2 champ with a record of 10-2.