Vikings Lacrosse Defeat Long Beach In Quarter-Finals

Port Washington girls lacrosse (14-3) defeated the Long Beach Marines (12-5) at Schreiber High School Thursday in the Nassau County Class A Quarter-Finals. With Long Beach out of the playoffs, Port Washington advances to play Massapequa on Thursday.

The game didn't seem like it would be a blow-out from the very beginning.  At the 13:00 mark of the first half, the score was tied 2-2. Port Washington quickly took control, scoring three goals over Long Beach before the six-minute mark. Now 5-2, Long Beach scored one more goal and the Vikings scored two.  Seconds before halftime, Long Beach's Molly Martin tried to rush the ball down the field for a goal, but was checked. At the half, Port Washington had a  7-3 lead.

Unfortunately for Long Beach, any chance for a comeback was left behind in the first quarter. Port's Brenna Betsch scored the first goal, her first of the season, picking up the ball at the defense end and running the field. Five minutes into the second half, Port had a 9-4 lead.  At the 14:00 mark, it was 15-4. Though there was still time for a Long Beach comeback, the Vikings defense remained on top until the very end.

With only five minutes remaining, the Vikings held onto its immense lead over Long Beach, at 15-5.  Long Beach scored two more goals before game's end, but it was much too little too late.  At a score of 16-7, Port Washington won the Nassau County Class A Quarter-Finals.

Heroes: Jackie Froccaro for scoring a team high of five points, her cousin Alexa Froccaro and Danielle Rosmarin for scoring four goals each, and Brenna Betsch for scoring an impressive field rushed goal.

Goalie for the Vikings, Samantha Tilts, had six saves, and Long Beach's goalie had seven saves. Long Beach's seven goals were all scored individually: Emma Cohen, Molly Martin, Emily McLoughlin, Patricia Murphy, Jillian Piazza, Elizabeth Rourke and Melissa Rubin.

Turning Point: Port Washington scoring three goals over Long Beach in the beginning of the first half, breaking a tie game.

Quotables: Rachel Ray, head coach for Long Beach commented on the game: "We played a very experienced team.  We're a very young team, and though we didn't make it this year, we'll try our best for next season." The Vikings head coach, Raquel Piraino, said:  "We came off the beginning of the game a little slow, but we picked things up and kept them going. I'm very proud of everyone, including Brenna Betsch for her first goal of the season."

Bottom Line: The Vikings had too tough of a defense for Long Beach, and held it back from making catching up in the first half, or making a comeback in the second.

What's Next: Port Washington will play against Massapequa on Thursday at Denton Ave at 6:00 p.m.

Port Washington Scoring: Jackie Froccaro: 5 goals/1 assist; Alexa Froccaro: 4 goals/2 assists; Danielle Rosmarin: 3 goals/1 assist; Hayley Kerr: 1 goal; Kaitlyn Brown: 1 goal/1 assist; Brenna Betsch: 1 goal; Lauren DeSimone: 1 goal/1 assist.

Long Beach Scoring: Molly Martin: 2 goals; Jillian Piazza: 1 goal; Melissa Rubin: 1 goal/1 assist; Patricia Murphy: 1 goal; Emily McLoughlin: 1 goal; Emma Cohen: 1 goal/1 assist.