Chiefs Advance To Long Island Field Hockey Finals

They played with passion and poise, and in the end, the Massapequa field hockey team came away with a dramatic 1-0 overtime victory over New Hyde Park Sunday to capture their second consecutive county championship.

"The girls played really hard and never let themselves be taken down, so I'm really proud of them," Coach Barbara Lowell said after the game at Adelphi University. Massapequa played strong defensively, and despite the stress of the big game, remained calm under pressure.

Massapequa's Amanda Brody stood out, seemingly always there to intercept the ball each time New Hyde Park  tried to take possession. Brody's used to pressure, having scored the winning goal in last year's county finals. Her speed enabled her to stop many of New Hyde Park's defenders. Although she was an offensive, force, the first half remained scoreless throughout.

The second half saw much more action, as each team began to take more scoring attempts. Massapequa's  Nicole Sicitella, and Brody  drove the offense, but could not find the net.

As the game continued to heat up, small scuffles almost broke out between players. One such battle for possession resulted in a New Hyde Park player being hit in the base of the skull with a stick. After examination, she was escorted off the field.  With  11:46 remaining,  the game resumed and Massapequa again gained possession of the ball, and missed an  attempt to score. 

With 3:55 remaining in the second half and the score still 0 – 0, New Hyde Park fired its first shot but also missed. A few minutes later the scoreless game headed into  sudden death overtime.

"I just want them to win. I want my girls to do well, Coach Lowell said. About two minutes in, New Hyde Park gained possession of the ball and fired a shot, but missed. Less than two minutes later, with 6:46 remaining, Massapequa's Sicitella fired in a clean shot and brought her team to their second County Championship in a row. "We had this little curse of losing every other year, so now this is two in a row for us. It was a great win,"  said a relieved Coach Lowell.

SCORE: 1 – 0 Massapequa

HERO: Nicole Sicitella. Scoring the lone goal of the night in sudden victory during the first overtime, Sicitella ensured her team a place in the All Island semifinals. Her determination helped her team maintain possession of the ball the majority of the game.  

TURNING POINT: 6:46 remaining in OT. Massapequa scored an instant victory.

THE QUOTE: "Determination and perseverance definitely led to our victory tonight," said Coach Lowell. "If we had come out of this on the other side, I would have [still] been proud of them. It's just nice that they were able to pop one in. But I mean, it's sudden victory. This win wash huge!"

 WHAT'S NEXT: Long Island Championships are Sunday, November 14^th. at 2:00 p.m.