Martinez's Hat Trick Sparks WI Girls Soccer

Junior forward Amanda Martinez wasted no time sending a message to Lindenhurst, recording a hat trick within the first five minutes of the game to help the West Islip Varsity girls soccer team cruise to a 4-0 victory at Lindenhurst Middle School Wednesday evening.

At the 38:20 mark, Martinez's first shot deflected off of the Lindenhurst's goalie but she was able to grab the rebound and find the back of the net. Moments later, as West Islip kept the pressure on the opposing keeper, Martinez knocked in her second goal. 

A few minutes later, she had the ball in Lindenhurst's zone on the left sideline and launched a long, arching kick that sailed over the goalie's head and into the back right corner of the net.

"She was a strong player last year but she's just a great athlete," assistant coach Jim Albert said. "When she steps out on the field, she puts her athletic ability to use. Not a lot of analysis there, she just plays."

After a quick start to the game, the Lions put in some of their younger players and the pace slowed down.  While they were still able to keep the ball out of their own zone, the pressure the team had mounted in the first 10 minutes had cooled.

But at the 6:18 mark of the first half, the Lions struck again. Sophomore forward Nicole Perniciaro executed a beautiful through ball to fellow sophomore Brenda DiDonna who beat one defender before slipping it past the goalie into the right side of the net.

Goalie Samantha Whitney didn't face one clean shot in the first half and West Islip went into the half with a 4-0 lead. Despite the impressive performance, head coach Nick Grieco was visibly animated in his talk with the players at halftime.

"This is a young team and we were concerned about the drop off in play with the young kids," Albert said. "We have five sophomores and two freshmen and when they get in the match we've noticed a drop off. We were telling them they're a part of the team. This is a 22 member team and you can't be going along for the ride, you have to make a contribution. That's always our concern."

The girls played hard throughout the second half and constantly kept the pressure on Lindenhurst. Although they didn't score again, the coaches were satisfied with the play from their younger girls later in the game.

"We encouraged them to step it up a bit and I think they started playing much better in the second half," Albert said.

After winning their first three games of the season, the Lions will look to continue their success when they return to action on Friday, Sept. 15 at home against Islip at 3:30 p.m.

"Islip is always tough," Albert said. "Mike Reilly, a West Islip guy, is a tremendous coach and they've had a strong program. Any Mike Reilly coached team, we're just happy to get them early in the season because the longer they've been playing, the more organized they get and the tougher they are. We get them early and hopefully they're a little inexperienced at this point, but it'll be a match"