Schools
PLAYOFFS: Lady Cyclones Blank Garden City to Advance to County Finals
South Side exacted its revenge from last year's loss, topping the defending champs 1-0.
The South Side Lady Cyclones waited an entire year to rinse the sour taste of last season's county finals defeat to Garden City out of their mouths, but on Saturday, the Lady Cyclones wait was finally over.
South Side shut out Garden City in the Class A semifinals, 1-0, to advance to the county finals against Division High School on Wednesday. South Side is looking to secure its 14th county title in the last 15 years.
The lone goal in this defensive battle was scored less than a minute into the game when Christina Klaum took a pass from Victoria Reis and worked her magic past sweeper Christina Mangels and drove a ball past keeper Tracy Rendano into the goal.
Find out what's happening in Rockville Centrefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
No. 2 seed South Side came into the match with an 8-2-2 record, while No. 3 seed Garden City was 6-2-4. The two teams split its two previous regular season games, both teams winning on their home fields.
The match started eerily similar to the last meeting with an early South Side goal, but in this one, the Garden City offense couldn't put the ball past Lady Cyclones keeper Kelsey Berki. A stout South Side defense played a key role in front of Berki, limiting the Lady Trojans to only eight shots on goal. With backs Sam Ford, Tessa Considine, Kelsey Ford and Caitlin Wallace controlling the back line, the Cyclones came up with their seventh shutout of the year.
Find out what's happening in Rockville Centrefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Garden City had several opportunities to score inn the first half, but it was their second half surge that looked like it could get them even. They applyed more pressure on the ball up front with Taylor Hennig and Addy Zabrowski, as well as midfielders Haley O’Hanlon and Jess Stein, but the Trojans couldn’t sneak one into the goal. The best chance came on a ball into the box that Berki went up high for but couldn’t control. Amidst a flurry of legs, a shot from Liz Stutzmann sailed about a foot over the goal.
Garden City's defense continually pushed up the field, but South Side had several strong counterattacks, targeting their talented sophomore forward Klaum. Playing excellent two-way soccer for South Side, and doing what they do best in controlling the ball and making tight, accurate passes were Meghan Hines, Alex Reis, Michaela Lynch and Victoria Reis.
The Lady Cyclones will next face No. 1 seed Division at Denton Avenue in New Hyde Park at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
