SWR field hockey falls in quarterfinals on OT penalty stroke

After winning six straight games to start the season, Shoreham-Wading River’s field hockey team hit a rough stretch to finish out the year, losing six of their last 10 games. But regardless of how the regular season ended, they had a fresh start after making the playoffs — a chance to rewrite their story. Unfortunately, it didn’t end the way they wanted, losing in overtime, 1-0 on a penalty stroke. 

With the sixth seed in the Suffolk County Class B bracket, they were tasked with taking down No. 3 East Islip at East Islip Middle School in the quarterfinal round, a team they lost to earlier in the year, 2-0. In that game, East Islip got ahead with two goals in the first half. On Tuesday, however, it was a true battle of possession throughout the entire game.

Corner after corner, each team had chances to score through four quarters. Before the penalty, goalies came up with clutch stops and defenses reigned supreme.

“I think if you look at it from a full team standpoint, individually, I think we played our best game of the season today,” Shoreham-Wading River head coach Zoe Norton said. “When you look back at all the opportunities we had and the way we played defense and controlled the ball, it was easily our best performance of the season.” 

There were breakaways on both sides where a defender was able to trek back and stop an open opportunity in the howling wind on a teeth-chatteringly cold day in East Islip. Madison Herr, who was hounded all day by the defense after being one of the top goal scorers in Suffolk County this season with 20, made multiple runs forward and crossed the ball in front of the net but just could not find a teammate’s stick. With the few that did get through, the final shot was just not accurate enough. 

Every quarter ended at 0-0, and the game was forced to go into a seven-versus-seven overtime period, which only increased the stakes of the game, leaving no room for error.

With around four minutes left in overtime, the ball trickled over a stick and out of the circle on a Shoreham-Wading River corner attempt, eventually finding an East Islip player making their way back to defend the corner. After getting the ball and turning around, they had nothing but open turf ahead with no Wildcat in sight.

Sophia Giangreco, the SWR goalie, waited patiently as the attacker sprinted her way, and decided on a diving attempt in the final moment, missing the ball, and forcing the referee to call a penalty stroke. Disgruntled Wildcat fans immediately griped at the call of a penalty in a pivotal moment of the game.

“As tough as that game ended, I agree with the call that it was a stroke,” Norton said. “The goalie went for the ball and didn’t get the ball and a player obstructed the play coming back stick and fouled her intentionally as she was trying to shoot the ball. I don’t like the call, but I agree with it.”

East Islip’s Emily Mooney then came up and delivered the game-winner to send East Islip to the semifinals.

“That was the absolute worst way to end a season,” Norton said. “For four quarters, we were up at our end the whole time. Sophia was amazing in the goal, keeping them off the board. We made so many plays but just couldn’t score the ball. I just feel for the seniors that gave their all for this program.”

There’s not much to say after a loss so heart-wrenching like that, but Norton spent a good amount of time addressing the team post-game.

“I know how it feels because I’ve been there before as a player,” Norton said. “There’s nothing that anyone can say that would let it sting less. I’m just so proud of them. We deserved to win that game. I have a lot of kids that this isn’t their main sport but they make it their main sport for the season. They all worked so hard this season. It’s just unfortunate that it had to end the way it did.”