PLAYOFFS: Lady Warriors Lax Eliminates South Side, Again

Ask any one of the South Side Lady Cyclone lacrosse players if they’ve had deja vu and it’s a certainty all would answer in the affirmative.

Last season, No. 6 South Side was eliminated in the Class B quarterfinals by the No. 3 Wantagh Lady Warriors by a final of 18-5.

On Thursday, No. 6 South Side was eliminated in the Class B quarterfinals by No. 3 Wantagh once again, this time by a final of 22-12.

Wantagh senior captain Colleen Lovett led all scorers with a staggering 14 points, comprised of five goals and nine assists. Fellow senior captain Catie Ingrilli added three goals and two assists to the team’s totals. The last of the senior captains -- goalie Sophia Gambitsky -- made seven saves in the win.

Junior Brenna Connolly and senior Erin Pugh combined for nine goals for Wantagh.

“They were fast. We had a hard time keeping up with them,” South Side head coach Meaghan Healey said of Wantagh’s attack. “… That was probably the biggest thing, us not being able to get into defense quick enough.”

Wantagh jumped out to a commanding 6-0 lead in the game’s opening 10 minutes behind two goals and three assists from Lovett.

“[Colleen] has been on our team for five years and she’s really run our offense for the last few years,” Wantagh head coach Bobbi Colavita said of Lovett’s play. “It’s been nice because she has helped with the passing and the shooting, and she keeps a nice pace going.”

South Side responded with four consecutive goals in four minutes, but Wantagh was open to the challenge, closing the half on a 7-2 run and extending its lead to 13-6 at the half.

It was much of the same in the second half. The Lady Cyclones cut the deficit to six multiple times, including at 17-11 when Wantagh went on a 5-1 run to close the game.

South Side senior Liz Hoeffner, who was instrumental in the team’s opening-round win over Floral Park, finished Thursday’s game with one goal and six assists. Senior Michaela Lynch, who led Nassau County in scoring during the regular season, finished with four goals and one assist.

Lady Cyclones juniors Maggie Cifarelli and Hannah Serling also combined for five goals.

“These guys never give up,” Healey said of her team. “We have a great group of senior, a great group of captains. … I’m just really proud, they never gave up.”

For the Lady Warriors, Thursday’s win sets up a rematch of last year’s Class B semifinal with the No. 2 Manhasset Lady Indians, which Wantagh won by a final of 17-15.

The semifinal will take place at Adelphi University on May 22 at 6 p.m.