Nearly four years since capturing the New York state Class B title, the Manhasset girls varsity lacrosse team is one step closer to repeating history after they won the Long Island Class C Championship on Sunday.
Manhasset (13-2) was able to exact revenge on Bayport-Blue Pont (16-3), the same team that defeated them in last year’s Long Island title match Sunday afternoon at Stony Brook University. Senior Alexis Morton told Newsday that the loss resonated with her and the team until they won this year’s rematch.
“It definitely still stings and did until now,” Morton told Newsday. “I think during this whole game, we knew we needed to come out on top because we knew last year we totally had the potential to.”
Morton and the team faced a three-goal deficit midway through the fist half of the game before Manhasset fired back with three goals in less than two minutes to even up the score.
Manhasset head coach Meghan Clarke, who called a timeout following Bayport-Blue Point’s third goal of the first half, told Newsday that her squad will keep playing the way they are used to, regardless of the score.
“We play a type of lacrosse that whether we are up by three or down by three, we’re still playing Manhasset lacrosse and that’s what happened today,” Clarke told Newsday.
Manhasset’s Caitlin Barrett and Ashley Newman each added two goals while keeper Ruby Cacioppo had five saves on the afternoon.
Morton, who scored four goals in the game, is the team’s points leader with 52 goals and 37 assists on the season. Those 37 assists are the fifth-highest throughout Nassau County this season and her 89 total points are the 10th-highest.
Clarke said Morton “eats, breathes and sleeps lacrosse,” with the Long Island Championship game being no exception.
Despite the regional win, Morton told Newsday, that she was “done celebrating” following the victory and that she is eager to play the next game, a matchup with Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in the state’s Class C semifinals at Suny Cortland this Friday at 1 p.m.
Since the team’s May 3 loss to Wantagh, the team has gone six-game winning streak, defeating Wantagh 19-11 in the Nassau County finals on May 31. During the team’s win streak, they have outscored their opponents 90-52, averaging 15 goals per game during that stretch.
