West Soccer Clinches Playoff Spot with 2-0 Victory over Centereach

Smithtown West girls soccer defeated Centereach 2-0 to secure a playoff spot in League III.  Two goals in a less than two minute span in the middle of the first half was enough to put West in the win column.

Score:  Smithtown West 2, Centereach 0

Records: Smithtown West 7-5-1 (6-5), Centereach 3-8-2 (2-7-2)

The Heroes:  Courtney Lawrence and Kayla Dantona combined to assist on Erin Froehlich's goal in the 18th minute that extended West's lead to 2-0.  Junior Shannon Kennedy has opened the scoring just a minute and 16 seconds earlier.

The Turning Point: The second West goal scored by Froehlich was more than enough for West on the day.  Centereach put some pressure on late in the second half but was never able to really threaten the West goal or its lead. 

The Quote:   "Defensively we're always strong but we need to score goals to win games and Erin Froehlich has been giving us the big goals when we needed them, and she provided that today when we needed it," said West Head Coach Rob Schretzmayer.

The Bottom Line:  West came into the game knowing they needed to win one of its last two games to make the playoffs.  If they didn't get the job done today that win would have had to come against cross town rival – and 11-3-1 – Smithtown East.

"We knew we were up against it and needed to get a win to get into the playoffs," Schretzmayer said. "We knew we couldn't wait until Wednesday to get the win.  The girls came out and it was really up to them to get it done and they did.  I'm proud."

West continued to control the ball throughout the second half and easily secured the playoff spot.

"It's a huge relief because we needed this win, and we wanted it," Froelich said. "We want to be in the playoffs really bad.  It's something as a team that we wanted to achieve."

Key Stat:  The ball control by West accounted for 14 shots on goal compared to Centereach's three.  West's Courtney Dunning made three saves in the game while Centereach's Lauren Young made six.

Who's Next?:  A rivalry game between West and East to close out the season, then both teams will prepare for the playoffs.