5th Grade Girls Lacrosse Defeat Wantagh

Wantagh opened the game with 2 quick goals to lead 2-0. Wantagh was about to go up by 3 when goalie Kristen Noonan made a spectacular one on one save. Kristen threw an out let pass to Annie Blanco who then raced up the field. Annie spotted Shannon Callahan who fired a shot past the Wantagh goalie. On the next possession, a doubled teamed Casey Cullen fed Brianne Griffith who fired a low bounce shot into the goal knotting the score at 2. Kristen would make one more critical save before the quarter ended with the score tied 2-2.

The 2nd quarter opened with Brianne Griffith picking up a ground ball in traffic and then beating 2 defenders to score which gave GC the lead 3-2. Time of possession would swing GC's way the rest of the quarter as midfield play of Katie O'Neil, Stacey Madelmayer, Hannah Eilbeck, Maddy McGuire, Annie, Shannon, and Brianne caught almost every pass thrown to them. The combination of great goalie play by Wantagh and poor shot selection by GC kept the score 3-2 GC till late in the 2nd quarter when Shannon scored unassisted for her second goal. The defense truly stepped up as Wantagh was held scoreless from the second minute in the first quarter till halftime! Kayla Walczyk, Maggie Rogers, Lauren Garizio, Molly Adams, and Jackie Marino all deserve high praise for hard work.

The 3rd quarter saw good 2 way flow from both teams. Wantagh would narrow score to 4-3. Shannon would win the ensuing draw and execute a great give and go with Annie to score and increase the lead to 5-3 GC. The attack play of Casey Cullen, Paige Lopez, Zoë Karikas, Kristen Fitzsimons, Kristen Noonan, and Paige Cicchetti began to wear on the Wantagh defense. Numerous completed passes, ground balls, picked up rebounds by this group gave the offense many scoring chances. The team would capitalize twice more in the quarter on Shannon's 4th and 5th!! goals of the game. Casey and Stacey recorded the assists. The 3rd quarter ended with a great save by Lauren Garizio and GC leading 7-4.

Stacey Madelmayer opened the scoring in the 4th on a great move and shot to increase the lead to 8-4. Paige Cicchetti would score next for GC by picking up a ground ball and beating three defenders. Maddy McGuire, playing a great all around game with multiple ground balls, caught passes, and strong defense ended the scoring for GC with a well placed shot. Casey recorded her 3rd assist of the day on the play. A great team effort on Mother's Day led to a 10-5 victory.