Sports

West Islip Girls Lacrosse Edge Northport

Lions hold off late rally to beat Northport, 12-11, in Suffolk Division I showdown Friday.

The nation’s top senior had the ball and a full head of steam as she charged toward the West Islip goal. The Northport sideline shrieked in anticipation as attack Cortney Fortunato cradled the fate of two teams in her lacrosse stick.  

“That is the last person I want with the ball,” West Islip Girls Lacrosse Coach Joe Nicolosi said.  

Northport, down five goals at one point, was 15 seconds away from forcing overtime. And then the most feared offensive player on the field lost the ball.  

West Islip’s defense swooped to gain possession and hold on for a thrilling 12-11 win Friday in a Suffolk Division I game at Northport.  

“It was a little scary,” West Islip senior midfield Kate Beier said. “But we pulled it together and we’re confident in each other. We just had to settle down, take a breather and pull through.”  

The Lions charged the field, and for good reason. It was Nicolosi’s first win over Northport in nine seasons as the West Islip coach.  

With the Suffolk playoffs just weeks away, West Islip (10-2 overall, 8-2 division) now has a firm grasp of the second seed behind unbeaten Bay Shore.  

“The girls deserved this win,” Nicolosi said. “We played them in 2009, lost by one goal in the county championship with one minute left in the game. This was payback.”  

West Islip has defeated East Islip, Ward Melville and Northport over the last two weeks, three teams it lost to a year ago.  

Senior Ruth Dooling made five big saves. Beier and freshman attack Emily Piciullo each finished with three goals to power West Islip.  

After beating nationally-ranked Good Counsel (Md.), 13-5 to open the month, Northport (7-4, 6-4) finished April shaken and searching for answers. The Tigers trailed 7-3 at the half and 9-4 with 22:21 to go.  

“Fighting back was the most important thing, no matter how many goals we were down,” Northport junior midfield Allie Pavinelli said.  

Pavinelli, a Florida commit, ignited the Northport rally with forceful, back-to-back goals to close the gap to 9-6. Northport outscored the Lions 7-3 from that point, including three straight goals in the final 2:19.  

Fortunato’s breakaway and left-handed shot with 47 seconds left brought the Tigers down 12-11. She got the ball once more in the final seconds, but was unable to get off an attempt.  

Pavinelli and Michigan-bound senior attack Allie Breitfeller each scored three goals for the Tigers.  

“There’s plenty of time to fix it. It has to come from within them,” Northport Coach Carol Rainson-Rose said. “They have to want to win so badly and the passion to play hard.”  

Suffolk Division I Girls Lacrosse
Teams…………..........……....1…..2 – F
West Islip……..........……….7…..5 – 12
Northport……............………3…..8 – 11
Goals – WI: Beier 3, Piciullo 3, Darrell 2, Riportella 2, Hill, Douglas; N: Pavinelli 3, Allie Breitfeller  3, Fortunato 2, Sarcona, Van Dyke, Labuskes. Saves – WI: Dooling 5; N: Brunoforte 10.


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