Marines Crowned Conference Champs

The Long Beach girls’ lacrosse team clinched its first regular season conference championship in a decade in decisive fashion Tuesday, turning back an early challenge from visiting MacArthur and cruising to a 15-7 win.

The victory came on an offensive spree that saw the Lady Mariners, having fallen behind 4-2, outscore their opponents 10-1 between the 12:30 first half mark and the first ten minutes of the second half.

“This game was huge,” said Long Beach head coach Rachel Ray. “It’s the first time we’ve won the conference since 2001.”

The Lady Mariners came out firing, with senior Emily McLaughlin (6 goals, 2 assists) scoring twice in the first three minutes, the second goal on an assist from Aileen Denis.

For the next ten minutes, Long Beach showed impressive ball control, scooping up rebounds on errant shots and playing a perimeter game that limited MacArthur to fast break and transition opportunities. The Generals took maximum advantage, however, slamming home four goals—two from Jessica Gattus and one each for Kristina Coiro and Kelly Pearse—to force a Lady Mariners time out.

That time out, while the Mariners were down 4-2 midway in the first half, was a key moment in the game, according to Ray. “We had to have that time out,“ she said. “I needed to let our younger players know it’s the last year for the seniors; how important it was that we don’t let up.”

The result was a return to form for the Long Beach girls—the kind of form they’ve shown against conference foes all season.

Tenth grader Mollie Madrano scored all three of her goals in the span of ten minutes—one on a feed from senior Emily McLoughlin (6 goals, 2 assists).

In the second half, eighth graders Rebecca Idson and Emma Cohen got into the act with a goal apiece.

Also scoring for Long Beach was Aileen Denis, a junior. Goalie Elyse Stark had fifteen saves on the day, including a number of point blank shots that had fans in the stands cheering.

With the regular season championship under their belts, the Mariners can now start thinking about the playoffs.

“We know it’s going to be a challenge,” Ray said. “Nassau county A1 is a very strong conference.”

“Going into the playoffs we’re going to do what we’ve done all year,” said senior co-captain McLoughlin. “We’ll concentrate on making smart plays and work hard in practice. We’re all about hard work.”

The playoff seedings will be announced Friday.