Girls Soccer: Constant nets SWR’s winner with 1:48 left

With 8 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in a tied game against rival Elwood/John Glenn, Shoreham-Wading River’s Nicky Constant found herself on a breakaway against goalkeeper Olivia Mule.

The junior forward didn’t shoot it hard enough and Mule saved the attempt.

Several minutes later, Constant got angry — at herself — and managed to make sure the score wasn’t even as she tallied the game-winning goal, scoring off a 50-yard free kick by center back Elizabeth Shield with 1:48 remaining to lift the Wildcats to a 2-1 home victory at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field Tuesday.

“Second half I was psyching myself out because I was being man marked,” Constant said. “I didn’t have time to adjust to it. So, it just got into my head. When I got that fast break, I wanted to shoot with my left and didn’t put enough power on it. So, I was really upset.”

Constant tallied her team-high eighth goal of the season.

“I really just wanted to prove myself and help the team because I wasn’t doing so well,” she said. “Scoring that goal was really big for me and boosted up my confidence and made me feel better about playing.”

Even though school had just begun, the Suffolk County League VI encounter had a high intensity and playoff feel to it as it pit two of the leading Suffolk Class A teams against each other. Glenn (3-1, 3-1) entered the match having outscored its three foes, 21-0. Shoreham (5-0, 5-0) had an 18-0 margin over it opponents.

“We want to keep this undefeated season,” Constant said. “We want to do the best we can and hopefully make it to the playoffs and counties. This is just one step closer to getting to our goal. Getting this winning streak is only going to boost our team.”

Despite outplaying Glenn, the Wildcats endured a frustrating first half. They hit the woodwork twice — Constant’s header bounded off the crossbar with 33:34 remaining and Frankie Lilly’s attempt hit the left post with 30:01 left. Mule also was up to the task, making several saves, including a diving save on Constant with 25:56 to go.

Out of the blue, the Knights grabbed the lead as Stephanie Tsangaris latched onto a loose ball and fired a shot from atop the penalty area past goalkeeper Lydia Kessel for her eighth goal. It also was the first goal the Wildcats had allowed this year.

Shoreham, however, equalized with 31:48 left in the second half, as freshman midfielder Lydia Radonavitch looped a long shot into the upper left corner for a 1-1 deadlock.