It was all right there. Achingly close by.
The Port Washington girls lacrosse team has been chasing county championship glory for a quarter of a century.
And now, Tuesday night at Adelphi University, it was right there in front of them. Rallying back from a four-goal deficit in the second half, the Vikings were mere minutes away from tasting the Class A title and beating perennial power Massapequa.
They had former coach Roger Winter in the stands, who had led his squad to six titles in 10 years, the last one in 2000.
When Margaret Cassidy scored with 6:29 left in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 9, the stands were alive with noise and it looked like the Vikings would do it.
But Massapequa was the four-time defending Class A champ for a reason, and in the final few minutes, found a way.
Isabella Grosso broke the tie with 4:36 left, then Paige Gargiulo tallied her fifth goal of the night with 1:13 left, and the Chiefs hung on to turn back Port Washington, 11-9, in a well-played thriller.
The loss was devastating for a Vikings squad that had come so far in the last few years; when it was over, the players stood by their bench for 10 minutes, not moving much at all, still in shock at how close they came, and how it ended.
“I always have confidence in our girls. They are so special,” Port coach Pam Giordano said. “My team’s leadership, my senior girls, I wasn’t ever really stressed (when we were down). I thought we always had the comeback in us.
“It was just unfortunate it flowed the way it did at the end.”
The regular season matchup between these two resulted in a 9-2 Massapequa win, but this game was much more even.
Port (9-8) led by two goals in the first half, but Massapequa rallied to tie the game at 4 at halftime.
Massapequa (12-7) took its first lead on a goal by Grosso early in the third quarter, and started to get all the momentum when Grosso scored again less than two minutes later, making it 6-4.
“She played the game of her life, just so good as a two-way midfielder,” said Massapequa coach Brendan Gaghan. “She did things tonight, like taking the draws, that she hasn’t done all season.”
Gargiulo (who has committed to Division I Jacksonville) scored from right in front, making it 7-4, and the Vikings were reeling.
The Chiefs scored four goals in 3:59 to blow the game open in the third period.
But Port Washington would not fold. Free-position goals by Aliyah Brodsky and Cassidy cut the deficit to 8-6, and after Karman lasered a free-position goal low and into the net, it was 8-7.
Lily Capobianco scored three goals for Port Washington, while Cassidy and Brodsky each scored a pair.
When Brodsky scored her second goal to complete the comeback, Giordano wasn’t surprised.
“I just think we trusted the process we’ve been doing,” Giordano said. “We’re a really strong team, stuck to our gameplan, got possessions and ran with it.”
But the Chiefs didn’t go away, either. After taking a 9-8 lead, they saw Port tie it. But Grosso’s last goal gave Massapequa the edge.
The Vikings had a few turnovers in the final minutes that hurt them, and the final blow came with 1:44 left, when after a great defensive sequence, a Massapequa shot went sailing past the cage.
But a Chiefs player was right there to save it, and give Massapequa a fresh 85-second shot clock, essentially sealing the win.
Freshman goalie Emily Fitzgerald was also stellar for Massapequa, making eight saves.
“I trust that kid with my life,” Gaghan said, laughing. “She’s so smart and always makes the big save for us.”
Massapequa now moves on to the Long Island Championship game on June 3, which it has won two years in a row, but is still chasing the program’s first state title.
For Giordano and her heartbroken Port Washington team, there is solace in knowing how far the program has come, led by seniors like Capobianco and Virginia Tech signee Catherine Karman, who had another dominant game, with one goal and an assist.
“There won’t be as big of a gap now between us and the best teams,” Giordano said. We’ve really bridged that; we’ve set a culture here. Massapequa has been here before, but we’re bridging the gap.”
