Long Beach Falls to Calhoun in Regular Season Finale

Calhoun sophomore Michelle Iacono put away two goals within the first 20 minutes to give the Colts a 2-0 win over Long Beach on Monday in their final regular season match before heading into the playoffs.

"Our passing combinations today went well and we just played phenomenal, especially early in the first half," Calhoun head coach Lori Biscardi said. "Our defense and midfield were able to shut down Emily [Aquedelo] and Shannon [Horgan], who were Long Beach's strongest players by far and they just played awesome together."

Iacano increased her season total to six goals with her second multi-goal game of the year. Her first came on a clean cross from freshman Kayla Cappuzzo where Iacono was able to put a head on the ball for the goal in the 14th minute.

She put away her second just three minutes later with Cappuzzo's second assist, who as just a freshman, finished the season tied with junior Kristina Gandolfo with a team-high 12 goals. The two scores was all the Colts would need, as they limited scoring chances for the Lady Marines, outshooting their opposition, 22-6.

"Kayla played me a perfect ball back in, so it literally landed on my head. It couldn't have gotten better, so I put it right in," Iacono said. "The second one, Kayla is always doing something good for the team. She played me a perfect ball right onto my foot, so I was able to put that one in too."

The Colts (12-2-1) finished their regular season on a three-game win streak after falling to first place Mepham. Today was the second time they have shut out the Marines (5-7-2) this season and their eighth clean sheet overall.

"I think that if we keep up what we have been doing, we don't really need to change anything," Iacono said. "If we keep going strong, I think we will do great in the playoffs."

After Long Beach created a few early chances, the Colts defense showed why they are amongst the best units in Nassau County, holding the Marines without a single shot attempt for over a 40-minute period spanning into the second half.

"We played really well, putting together a lot of good passes and crosses," Calhoun junior Mary Hijazi said. "We had some nice shots on goal and our defense was really solid. We are finishing our chances and attacking now, so I think we can take on any team."

With the loss, Long Beach is now on the fringe of making the playoffs. They will need some help from other bubble teams like Carey and Valley Stream Central in order to earn that shot.

"We had to capitalize early against them, hopefully to get one in and then play a defensive game," Long Beach head coach T.J. Burke said. "They did a great job on defense and they deserve the credit. Now we have to rely on a couple of teams to make the playoffs. Fate was in our hands, but this was a tough team to beat to get in."

A group of six seniors, including Ellie Rosenblum, Sarah Shuster, Elise Meade, Diana Goldberg, Jessica Estrada, and Kacey Solotoff participated in their final regular season game.

"I have been coaching most of the seniors for all four years from junior varsity up to varsity and I am glad I got them in for some playing time," Biscardi said. "They have been a great asset to the program and they are just great kids."

The first round of the playoffs starts on Friday.