Several familiar names were instrumental in theMattituck/Greenport/Southold girls lacrosseteam’s 15-5 victory over Center Moriches on Friday, April 17.
Senior forward Olivia Zehil recorded a first-half hat-trick in the Suffolk County Division II encounter.
Page Kellershon andClaire McKenzieeach collected two goals and an assist, and Riley Richert found the net twice. Grace Quinn, Gianna Calise, and Reese McKenna each tallied a solo goal on a rainy, windy afternoon in Southold.
And there were three rarely used players who might have caused the most excitement.
Francesca Santacroce, Jillian Fogerty, and Serena Gantley scored their first varsity goals in the second half. Every time they scored, they were congratulated by their teammates on the field, with the starters standing on the sidelines cheering wildly.
“I think just hearing the bench, you could tell how proud we are for everyone to be scoring,” Zehil said. “We’re so excited for everyone to have that feeling. After you score, it’s such a great feeling.”
Tuckers head coach, Logan McGinn, was more than happy to give reserves a considerable amount of playing time. Mattituck (4-2, 3-2) rolled to an 11-3 halftime advantage against the Red Devils (0-9, 0-7).
“Anytime you can get everyone in, it’s a good win,” he said. “Everyone works just as hard as the next girl. To get them in almost four quarters to reward them, it’s a good thing. I know playing in the rain is not a lot of fun, but at least they were trying.”
Gantley, a junior defenseman, converted a penalty shot at 5:21 of the third quarter before Santacroce duplicated the tally at 8:15 of the fourth period, and Fogarty tallied off a penalty shot with 10 seconds left.
“It is awesome to see, especially when it happens to just really good kids,” McGinn said. “When it happens to good kids, you just get excited for them. They work hard, and it pays off when they get in.”
Source: The Suffolk Times
