Interrant's Kick Clinches Suffolk AA Title For Bulls

After Smithtown East head coach Bill Hamilton put in senior Jaclyn Interrant during the second half of a scoreless tie in the Suffolk County Class AA Championship game Wednesday night, he turned to assistant coach Greg Scheponski and said, "If we go to penalty kicks I don't want her coming in cold."

Hamilton's prophecy became a reality when, after 80 minutes of regulation, 30 minutes of overtime and five penalty kicks by each team, the county title came down to sudden death penalty kicks. After West Islip's Molly Ohman hit the right post on her shot, Interrant stepped up to the ball with a chance to win it.

"I was shaking on the sideline," Interrant said. "Everyone was trying to calm me down. I kind of just let the nerves go when I walked up to the ball."

Interrant went top shelf on No.5 West Islip's senior keeper Samantha Whitney and scored to give the Bulls a 3-2 victory in penalty kicks and clinch the county title. For Interrant, a senior, this goal will remain in her memory banks for a long, long time.

"It's going to last forever," she said. "This is my senior year so I'm always going to remember it. I'm just so happy that we finally got our championship. We deserved it. We worked so hard and I'm so happy that I was able to finish it for us."

The Bulls were actually the only other team to beat West Islip this season in a 1-0 victory back on Sept. 22. The Lions bounced back on their home turf with a 3-0 win in the rematch, but it came down to a third matchup in the county finals, and the Bulls were ready.

"After they beat us 3-0 on their turf field both Greg and I said afterwards 'well maybe we'll see them again,'" Hamilton said. "We didn't expect to see them in the finals we thought we might run into them a little sooner than that but we were glad to be here."

Keeper Michelle Conrad made 14 saves in net including a key stop on a penalty kick as she and the Bulls' defense recorded its 12th shutout of the season. East captured first place in League III to earn a No. 6 seed in the playoffs. They beat No.11 Commack in the first round followed by No. 14 Smithtown West, their crosstown rival, in the quarterfinals. They upset No.2 Connetquot in the semis before clinching the county title Wednesday night.

"We had the feeling all year long that people kept waiting for us to trip and fall," Hamilton said. "The girls really stepped up. The defense has been lights out, Michelle's a rock back there and the midfield did a great job today."

Hamilton, in his first year as head coach at Smithtown East, was approached just before the season and offered the job. Hamilton, who taught at Smithtown West for 35 years, took the job despite getting flack from his friends from West.

"They asked if I'm still bleeding blue," Hamilton said. "I was a little worried because…I was on the other side of town forever and getting in the circle the first time and going 'East on three' was a little tough to do, but these kids were just phenomenal. They're just great, great kids and the transition was seamless."

The Bulls' season continues as they will face Nassau County champs Massapequa for the Long Island Class AA Title on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

"Massapequa's our next opponent and they've scored 78 goals [82 counting the last two playoff victories] and given up two," Hamilton said, "so they're formidable but we're happy to be here."