Sports

Girls Lacrosse: Late rally not enough as SWR falls to defending champs

Shoreham-Wading River sophomore Sophia Triandafils led the Wildcats with four goals in Wednesday's Class C playoff game. (Credit: Bill Landon)
Shoreham-Wading River sophomore Sophia Triandafils led the Wildcats with four goals in Wednesday’s Class C playoff game. (Credit: Bill Landon)

CLASS C SEMIFINALS  |  PHANTOMS 11, WILDCATS 7

Shoreham-Wading River closed to within three goals late, but could never get any closer in a season-ending playoff loss at Bayport-Blue Point Wednesday afternoon.

The third-seeded Wildcats never led in an 11-7 loss to the defending champion Phantoms in the Class C semifinal. 

No. 2 Bayport advances to play top-seeded Mount Sinai in a rematch of last year’s championship when the Phantoms ended the Mustangs’ 37-game win streak.

The Phantoms struck early and often against the Wildcats, taking a 9-2 lead before Shoreham’s offense started to get going in the second half.

Shoreham sophomore Sophia Triandafils, who scored four goals, said Bayport has a great team.

“We came out we gave it our all and really picked it up at the end,” she said. “No one wants this to be their last game of the season but even though we didn’t win, it feels good to know that we went out on the field and gave it our all so I couldn’t have asked for a better season with a better group of people.”

Triandafils got the Wildcats on the board when she scored off an assist from Grace Blomberg with 10 minutes left in the first half to cut Bayport’s lead to 3-1.

Bayport peppered the scoreboard with six more goals into the second half before the Wildcats could answer when Triandafils struck again on a free position for her second goal.

“We knew they were going to come out hard and they have some top players who pretty much ran their offense,” said Shoreham coach Rachel Feirstein. “We could’ve stepped up more in the first half like we did in the second and if we did the outcome could’ve been very different. You have to put together a full 50 minutes of play but unfortunately we didn’t, but we pulled within three goals at the end but it wasn’t enough.”

Bayport grabbed a 10-3 lead at the 5-minute mark but the Wildcats would not go quietly.

Samantha Higgins sent an assist to Jesse Arline to get the Wildcats within six, 10-4. With four minutes left, Triandafils scored twice more, first off an assist from Higgins and then from a feed by Arline. Higgins capped it off with a goal of her own to get the Wildcats within three at 10-7.

The Wildcats would come no closer as Bayport drilled an insurance goal with 0:33 left to put the game away.

“We didn’t play up to our full potential in the first half but we stepped it up in the second,” said freshman midfielder Erin Triandafils. “Our draw control was better in the second half but we just had to change it up on the draw to get it out of the circle instead of self drawing it.”

For goalkeeper Lauren Daly, the game marked the end of a brilliant five-year varsity career.

“Bayport’s a great team, we knew coming out it was going to be a hard fought battle and they came out fast and strong,” the Boston College-bound senior said. “They were ready to play and I think we were caught off guard a few times but we gave it our all and that’s all you can ask for. We’re a young team and they have some experienced players and that was the difference.”