Martinez's Hat Trick Sparks Girls Soccer 3-0 Win Over First Place Smithtown East

The West Islip Varsity girls soccer team was able to avenge a Sept. 22 loss to Smithtown East, beating them 3-0 on home turf Tuesday afternoon and clinching yet another playoff birth in the process.

Junior Amanda Martinez, who has been held scoreless since Sept. 20, came up with a clutch hat trick to help hand East their first League III loss of the season.

"It helped from a morale standpoint," head coach Nick Grieco said. "We tied two teams last week when we outplayed them in both games and now we were playing the first place team that hadn't let up a goal all season. We put three on them and gave them their first loss in the league. I'm very proud of our team's effort and the outcome today."

Martinez opened the scoring with 12:11 left in the first half. She got open on a breakaway, used her speed to get separation from the defense and shot it past East's keeper Michelle Conrad. It was the first ball to get past Conrad since the start of league play and it started the Lions off on the right foot.  Conrad finished with a game high 11 saves.

"They came out with some urgency," Grieco said. "The last couple games they came out flat but today they had plenty of energy. Everyone contributed, we subbed a ton and they made major contributions. We played as a unit and got the result we wanted."

Martinez got her second goal of the game to give the Lions breathing room with 13:39 left in the second half. She added her third when she beat the defense, got out on another breakaway and finished with a rocket past Conrad to seal the victory with just over a minute left.  Martinez now has a team-high 10 goals on the season. 

The Lions' defense was able to slow down the East (9-3) offense, limiting the number of good looks they were getting at the net.  Samantha Whitney had 7 saves and Taylor LaRose added one assist for West Islip.

"That win clinched us a playoff spot," Grieco said. "I said in the beginning of the year, 'it's not how you start, it's how you finish.' We just beat one of the best teams in Suffolk County who hadn't let up a goal all league season so we're heading in the right direction right when we want to be heading into the playoffs."

West Islip (8-1-2) doesn't have any time to blink as they return to action on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. against second-place East Islip (6-3-1).

"We just have to buckle down and get ready for East Islip now," Grieco said. "I expect the same thing from our team. We have to work hard, play great defense, have a team effort and hopefully we can get another good result because they're another good team."