Wantagh Girls Lacrosse Season Ends With Semifinal Defeat

The girls lacrosse team saw its 2011 season come to an end with an 11-7 loss to Manhasset in the Nassau County Class B semifinals Wednesday evening.

Despite not reaching the Nassau County title game for the third year in a row, head coach Bobbi Colavita is proud of how her team competed throughout 2011 in finishing the year 13-4 overall. The Lady Warriors finished second to Garden City in the Conference B1 regular season and were ranked ninth in New York State and among the top 100 in the nation throughout the 2011 campaign.

"It was a strong and successful season,” said Coach Colavita, whose squad fell behind 6-1 to Manhasset at Denton Avenue Field in New Hyde Park during Wednesday’s county semifinal before rallying to make the game competitive. “The girls played hard, and I was happy to see that they kept up their strong efforts the entire game [against Manhasset].  

With its win over Wantagh, Manhasset advances to the Nassau County Class B title game to face Garden City on June 1 at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium.

The loss to Manhasset ended the careers of 12 Wantagh seniors with several planning to take their skills to the college level including midfielders Paula Schmidt (North Carolina), April Iannetta (Hofstra), Brianna Schussler (Sacred Heart), Alexandra Rousseau (Manhattan) and Sabrina Mattera (Marist), goalie Kelly Keenan (Sacred Heart) and defender Brittany Rader (Long Island).

“They are a special group of seniors who have brought a lot of memories and success to our team and program,” said Colavita. “They will be greatly missed in our lacrosse program."