Pirates Beat Indians 11-10 In Comeback Win

Pearl River did not start the way it wanted to against Nyack in the Eighth Annual Stacey Sennas McGowan Memorial Girls Lacrosse Classic at McCalman Field in Nyack on Saturday.

The ending was much more to the Pirates' liking.

Pearl River senior midfielder Lauren Cook scored with 1:26 remaining to give the Pirates an 11-10 lead that they would take to the final whistle.

“This is just a huge game for us,” said Laurie Mayernik.  “Nyack is a great team with great coaches. I can’t remember a year when this game wasn’t within a goal or two at the end.”

“This game means a lot,” said Cook. “It’s a big league match, but mostly it just means a lot for us. Nyack is a great team and a rival of ours. Winning sections is our goal. They won it last year but we’re working for it this year.”

The Pirates fell behind 3-0 early in the first half, imilar to the way they fell behind 5-0 when in a 15-7 loss when the two teams met back on April 27. The Pirates huddled in front of their goal and regained their composure.

“They came out flying, again. The girls settled down, you could see their body language change and they gave it their all,” said Mayernik.

One particular play, in which Kiera McMullan controlled the ball after a penalty, McMullan never took her eyes off the Nyack keeper. When the referee blew his whistle, she fired it home, blowing the ball by a pair of defenders and the goalie.

Nyack’s defense was still intact. They had allowed only three first half goals until they stumbled just before the half ended and allowed Pearl River to draw closer. Nyack took a 6-4 lead to the half.

“We lost our momentum early in the second half and they outscored us,” said Nyack Coach Kathryn Perrella. “When we made a mistake tonight, we let it lead to another rather than keeping our cool. Pearl River played tough and we may have had a bit of a letdown coming out of our last game against them. They played well.”

Lauren Cook scored four second-half goals, which equaled the goal output of the entire Nyack squad. Cook was relentless, driving toward the goal even when swarmed by defenders, she would either get a shot off or draw a foul almost every time she got the ball on the offensive end of the field.

“(Lauren) Cook is phenomenal. She’s calm, cool, collected and came through in a big way for us tonight,” said Mayernik.  

“They beat us bad last time, we knew we had to fix some things and come out here with 110 percent for the entire game. We’ve been working toward this one for a while,” said Cook.

As Cook wowed on the offensive end of the field, Kaleigh Howe was equally impressive on the defensive end. Howe seemed to have a knack for finding the loose balls tonight, did an excellent job of moving the ball forward and getting it into the hands of her attackers.

“It feels really good to contribute to this win and knowing that I can help my teammates out,” said Howe. “They really make the plays and I just try to help out behind them. As a senior, I’m really glad to get this win.”

Pearl River 11, Nyack 10

Goal Scorers: N -- Walborn 4, McCabe 2, Chesteman 2, Devita, O’Sullivan. PR – Lauren Cook 4, Kaity Creagh 3, Kiera McMullan 3, Jessica Mayernik.
Saves: N – Sirois 5; PR – Delia White 6