Class D ‘Threepeat’ for Frogs, then fall in LI championship
Down by five goals early on? Check. Come back to win in sudden-death overtime? Ditto. Face the same Suffolk County juggernaut? Naturally.
The Carle Place girls’ lacrosse team had seen that movie before. For a second straight year against rival Oyster Bay in the Section VIII-Class D championship game, the Frogs had to climb out of a hole to gain a 9-8 victory on May 29 at Adelphi’s Motamed Field. It was their third consecutive county title.
And then, for a third straight year, they had to face Section XI powerhouse and defending state champ Mattituck-Southold. Unlike the past two years, when the Frogs fell by double digits, they gave the Tuckers a battle, losing 9-8 at Adelphi on June 1.
Carle Place coach Stephanie Peragallo said that Mattituck had numerous players who’ve committed to Division I programs and also play lacrosse year-round.
“Losing to them by one shows just how far we’ve come,” she said. “You get the feeling that we really could have won it. It’s upsetting, but it really makes me excited for the future of this program.”
Mattituck built up a 6-2 lead with 8:55 remaining in the first half. Julia Winer answered twice in the last 5:30 to bring the Frogs to within 6-4 at the half.
The Tuckers opened up a 9-6 lead with 9:53 left, but Ali Nagy (8:40) and Emiline Biggin (2:50) made it close before Mattituck ran out the clock.
Nagy, Biggin and Winer all scored twice for Carle Place, which finished 13-5 on the year. Paige Selhorn and Abby Lyons also scored.
Against Oyster Bay, the Frogs were down 6-1 with 6:36 left in the first half. But as in 2018, when they fell behind 5-0, they came back and won it in overtime.
“I had confidence in them,” Peragallo said. “We have a tendency to turn it on when we need to. We just weren’t playing well in the first half.”
Leah Iglesias started the comeback when she scored on an assist from Paige Selhorn with 35 seconds left in the half. Emiline Biggin, off a pass by Giana McKeough, then stopped the clock with four ticks left to make the halftime score 6-4.
Iglesias finally evened the score at 7-7 with 12:02 left in regulation, only to see the Baymen recapture the lead with 1:50 showing as Michela Rutigliano scored on a free possession.
The regulation time ended in suitably dramatic fashion. Iglesias drew a foul and came out to recover. Peragallo sent in Gab Baratta as a substitute, and she took the free position attempt, putting it past Oyster Bay goalie Maggie Ford with 50.6 seconds left to revive the Frog’s chances.
Biggin and McKeough then combined again for the winner in overtime, with Biggin netting her second of the night,
Abby Lyons also scored twice in the win, with Julia Winer adding another. Jen Tumino made five saves, coming up big several times on point-blank shots.
