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Sports

Wantagh Girls Soccer Making a Name For Itself in 2011

Young Warriors squad completes successful regular season and gears up for playoff opener at Seaford.

Outside of the community of Wantagh, many of the opposing girls soccer teams in Nassau County did not have eyes set on the Lady Warriors in 2011.

Featuring one of the youngest teams in the county, including a combined six eighth graders and freshmen, Wantagh has experienced quite the turnaround season. Wantagh narrowly missed out on a playoff spot in 2010, but with a core group of upperclassmen mixed in with the talented group of newcomers, first-year head coach James Polo has witnessed his team roll to an impressive 8-2-3 regular season record in a very challenging Conference A-II field.

The Warriors begin their playoff quest Friday at neighborhood rival Seaford in a 4:30 p.m. kickoff.

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“Our younger kids have been progressing, getting used to the speed and physicality and they are holding their own,” said Polo. “We always say the best 11 are going to get the most time and be the leaders on the field no matter what grade, and the upperclassmen bought into the system.”

Wantagh won four games in a row midway through the season, including a pair of 2-0 shutouts against Seaford and West Hempstead, and also posted a tie against then undefeated Clarke.

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Wantagh has been led in scoring by eighth grader Francesca Venezia, whose seven goals are tied for 11th in Nassau County.

“I feel that I am comfortable here because all of these girls treat us the same,” said Venezia.

Another eighth grader, Nikki Sliwak, has also been a key component of Wantagh’s success. Sliwak scored the game-winning goal in a come-from-behind 4-2 win at Manhasset on Sept. 27.

“The older girls made this experience so much better than I thought it was going to be,” said Sliwak. “We don’t want special treatment because we are younger and those older girls made us a part of the team right away.”

Wantagh returned a crucial core of seniors to provide that ever-important experience factor, including senior captains, Katherine Sneddon, Tara Basile and Kim Quigley. Sneddon has provided speed and leadership in the middle for an offense filled with youth.

That dangerous offensive core included but was not nearly limited to that of Venezia, Sliwak, freshmen Jordyn Klapper and Amanda Profera, sophomores Stefanie Wenz and Brenna Connolly as well as junior Kaitlyn Kingston. Connolly was second on the team in regular season goals with five.

“As the season went on, as we practiced together, all of our styles then meshed together," said Sneddon.

Basile has anchored a back line that allowed the Lady Warriors to outscore opponents, 28-14, including five shutouts from another senior captain and starting goalkeeper Brenna Smith. 

“The most important thing in a leader is to remember what it was like to be one of the younger kids on the team," said Basile. “I want to set that good example for them.”

If 10th-seeded Wantagh gets by Seaford on Friday, the Warriors will advance to the Class A Quarterfinals on Nov. 1 against either South Side or Lynbrook.

“The success that our girls are seeing now is only going to pay off down the road and that was my goal coming in here as a first-year head coach,” said Polo. “We are looking to make a name for ourselves.”

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