5th Grade Girls Lacrosse Beat Massapequa

The girls played their best all around game of the year in defeating a very strong Massapequa squad 9-6. The game was very close till the end of the 3rd quarter when Garden City's superior conditioning and outstanding defense exhausted Massapequa. Shannon Callahan had her best game of the year (3 goals and 3 assists) opened the scoring for GC 1-0. Massapequa scored the next 2 goals to take the lead by one. Brianne Griffith scored the tying goal on a nice pass from Shannon. Shannon would score again which gave GC a 3-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Goalie Kristen Noonan had 2 very good saves in the quarter.

The opening of the 2nd quarter saw Massapequa strike first to tie the score 3-3. Shannon scored her 3rd goal on a great assist from Annie Blanco to give GC a 4-3 advantage. The defense of Maddy McGuire, Paige Lopez, Maggie Rogers, Molly Adams, and Hannah Eilbeck were outstanding in double and triple teaming Massapequa offensive players which led to numerous turnovers. Kristen Noonan made a great save off a free position late in the second quarter which led to a fast break goal when a double teamed Zoë Karikas feed Kayla Walczyk who buried it in the net. Halftime score 5-3 GC.

Massapequa scored in the opening minute of the 3rd quarter to cut the GC led to 5-4. Massapequa would dominate the next 5 minutes of play but 2 great saves by 2nd half goalie Lauren Garizio kept them off the scoreboard. The swarming double and triple teams led to ground ball opportunities and defenders Paige Lopez and Maddy McGuire made several critical scoops to give GC multiple possessions. As the quarter played on the conditioning of Garden City girls paid off as the team began to dominate ground balls and were able to get three "3" second calls (thanks to team defensive and individual plays by Maddy McGuire, Zoë Karikas, and Brianne Griffith). Late in the 3rd quarter theoffensive,Casey Cullen, Kristen Fitzsimons, Zoë, and Kristen Noonan began to get open by cutting hard and creating passing space for the transitioning midfielders. The hard work paid off when Brianne was fouled going to the goal after a great feed from Kayla. Brianne scored on the free position on a hard bounce shot. GC won the draw and Shannon passed to Annie Blanco who beat 3 defenders to score and give GC a 7-4 led as the quarter ended.

The endurance of the midfield group of Stacey Madelmayer, Maggie Rogers,Kayla,Brianne,Annie, and Shannon began to wear down their opponents. Kayla scored next on a nice feed from Kristen Noonan. The good sportsmanship rule was enactedwith GC Leading 8-4 for the next 8 minutes saw a great save by Lauren and more great defensive double and triple teaming.Massapequa scored late in the 4th but Annie Blanco answered right back when she scored off a pass from Shannon. GC went on to win 9-6.