MacArthur Tops Calhoun For Class AA Girls Soccer Championship

MacArthur avenged a tough semifinal upset against Oceanside last season with a Nassau County Class AA championship to add to its name in 2011.

The No. 2 Lady Generals defeated previously unbeaten Calhoun, ranked ninth in the playoffs, on Wednesday at Denton Avenue by a convincing 3-0 final to claim the title that many of the girls have been waiting for.

“The fact that we didn’t lose anybody last year, we had a lot to prove,” Lauren Gotta, MacArthur head coach, said. “We knew we had to play 80 minutes of hard soccer and maybe more. We just always let them know that one goal isn’t enough, that we have to keep going.”

Junior defender Jenny Scro gave MacArthur the ever-important early lead with a penalty kick goal past Calhoun junior goalkeeper Alissa Battaglia (eight saves) just eight minutes in.

The half wouldn’t end without a handful of opportunities for the Lady Generals to increase their lead, as Talia Charidah, Mary Hijazi and the Lady Colt defense were forced onto their heels tirelessly from start to finish.

Ahead 1-0 at the start of the second half, senior Jill Mulholland, who scored a pair of goals in a 3-0 semifinal win against Massapequa last Friday, sent a hard cross in to sophomore Kristyn Alonzo, who deflected her teams’ second goal of the day into the back of the net. 

In the 48th minute of regulation, Calhoun found its first solid opportunity when sophomore Jessica Foley went in towards junior goalkeeper Jenna Cozza (one save) on what appeared to be a clean breakaway, but Scro quickly closed in to shoulder tackle the ball away at the last possible moment.

In the 55th minute, with the game seemingly in hand, MacArthur freshman Arianna Montefusco put in a goal for a commanding 3-0 advantage. As the clock hit triple zeroes, MacArthur rejoiced and claimed what they had been searching for since the season kicked off in early September.

“We just got really pumped for the game. In the second half, we went in and got two more goals to close out,” said Scro, who has served as the leader on the Lady Generals back line. “All year we just had a solid back and we have just been practicing. Our strength is definitely back there and our midfield.”

For Calhoun, the loss wrapped up one of the most dominating seasons in recent history under head coach Lori Biscardi. The Lady Colts finished the season at 16-1-2, including a pair of overtime victories in the playoffs against No. 1 Farmingdale and No. 4 Mepham to reach the finals.

“I want my team to keep their heads up. They’ve done incredible this season, to go undefeated this far,” said Biscardi. “MacArthur was a great team and able to put together all of their passes. Their defense is like a brick wall, very tough to get through."

MacArthur (15-2-0) will move on to play Ward Melville, the Suffolk County champion, in the Long Island Class AA title game. The match up is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Denton Avenue Field in New Hyde Park.