By Chris Goldberg
TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 4/8/13
Bay Shore (N.Y.) is one of several Long Island teams with high expectations in 2013.
The Marauders, with a very young team, went all the way to the New York Class A championship game last year before bowing to West Genesee, 10-9. Bay Shore finished 19-2 and graduated only two seniors.
This year the team has started with two clutch wins, a 7-6 overtime victory over Hauppauge (N.Y.) and Saturday’s 11-9 come-from-behind triumph over Smithtown East (N.Y.).
“We always have big expectations,” Bay Shore coach Allison Pfeffer said. “Our goals are always to get to the (Suffolk) County final, so that is what we are shooting for again this season. We only graduated two girls so I feel this team has experience and there is no reason they shouldn’t do well.”
In the two recent wins, the Marauders have started slowly. Against hauppage they fell behind, 4-0, and then won it in the fifth overtime on a goal by Katie Kirk. On Saturday against Smithtown East they found themselves down 9-3 before scoring the final eight goals of the game.
“Hauppauge was a scary game,” said junior midfielder Kyra Harney, who had four goals and seven assist in the two victories. “We were down to them also. I don’t know why we have had such weak first halves these last two games, but it is something we need to work on and improve on.
“Hopefully this will be a turning point for us and we realize we can’t go down by that much. We want to be exactly where we were last yea,r but we want the win this season. We have a huge target on our back and we just want to be in the same spot as last year. We can get back there because we are a group of girls that work hard every day and we can make it happen because we want it.”
Junior attack Kristen Brigagliano had four second-half goals in Saturday’s win to key the comeback.
“It’s going to be a long road, but I think we definitely have the potential to get back there,” she said. “We have a bull’s eye on our back, but we work hard every day and we absolutely want to go back to States. We can compete with any team and we know what it is like to get there and we want it even more this year.”
Vero Beach surprises No. 3 St. Anthony’s
Vero Beach (FL) pulled off a shocker Wednesday by defeating previous No. 3 St. Anthony’s (N.Y.), 13-12 in the “Duel by the Dunes” at The Citrus Bowl in Vero. The game was played as part of a doubleheader with the Vero Beach boys’ team, which fell to powerful Calvert Hall.
Vero Beach goalkeeper Allison McDonough was brilliant with 22 saves and Katy Pridemore pumped in eight goals, including five in the second half.
The TopLaxRecruits North America Girls’ Rankings
1. McDonogh School, Md. (7-0) Prev: No. 11
2. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes, Va. (11-0) Prev: No. 2
3. Moorestown, N.J. (4-0) Prev: No. 5
4. Garden City N.Y. (4-0) Prev: No. 6
5. Bryn Mawr, Md. (5-2) Prev: No. 4
6. Georgetown Visitation, D.C. (9-0) Prev: No. 10
7. Bay Shore, N.Y. (3-0) Prev: No. 7
8. Shoreham Wading River N.Y. (3-0) Prev: No. 9
9. Mt. Hebron, Md. (4-1) Prev: No. 11
10. Marriotts Ridge, Md. (5-0) Prev: No. 12
11. West Genesee, N.Y. (3-0) Prev: No. 13
12. Manhasset, N.Y. (3-0) Prev: No. 14
13. C.M. Wright, Md. (5-0), Prev: No. 16
14. Northport, N.Y. (4-0) Prev: NR
15. Radnor, Pa. (4-1) Prev: No. 18
16. Sayville, N.Y. (5-0) Prev: NR
17. Milton, Ga. (9-3) Prev: No. 8
18. St. Anthony’s, N.Y. (1-1) Prev: No. 3
19, Conestoga, Pa. (4-0) Prev: No. 19
20. Farmingdale, N.Y. (2-0) Prev: No. 20
Under Consideration: Carondelet, Ca., (9-2); Century, Md. (5-1); Chatham, N.J. (2-1); Cherry Creek, Co. (4-1); Christian Brothers, N.Y. (2-0); Hauppauge, N.Y. (2-1); Maryvale Prep, Md. (5-1); St. Paul’s School, MD (4-2); Vero Beach, Fla. (12-4); Westwood, Mass. (2-0).
