Lady Tornadoes Lacrosse falls to Eastport-South Manor

by Ryan Ackerman

On a sunny April afternoon, the Lady Tornadoes lacrosse team took on Eastport-South Manor. While the weather was pretty, the results were not.

This Harborfields squad, a perennial playoff contender in Suffolk League II, was looking to even its league record at 1-1 after suffering an away loss to Hauppauge on March 30.

A great deal of enthusiasm exuberating off the girls bench brought excitement to the Harborfields home crowd. However, the Lady Tornadoes defense, which is currently without starter Jenna Bergin (knee), quickly gave up three goals.

The Harborfields attack was quick to respond with two goals of their own, coming from senior midfielders Grace Zagaja and Falyn Dwyer. However, that is as close as the ladies would get.

Eastport-South Manor was able to add four more goals before the half, and it didn’t get better from there. Harborfields was also outscored 7-4 in the second half, with two of those goals coming in what some may call “garbage time.”

On offense for the Tornadoes, Mikayla Bergin, Falyn Dwyer, Stefanie Walsh and Hallie Simkins had one goal, while Grace Zagaja had two. Goalie Erin Tucker made eleven saves.

The enigma for the Harborfields defense was Kasey Choma and Kaitlyn Dorsett. Choma, a sophomore who is committed to Notre Dame, scored six goals for the Sharks. Dorsett added eight points, with two goals and six assists. In the net, Goalie Dayna Martinetto had seven saves.

While the results may not have been there, it doesn’t mean the effort wasn’t. As Junior defender Julia Davis put it, “It was definitely a tough loss, but the defense came out aggressive today and gave it our all to help our team. We have to improve on some things, but with practice we will certainly get there.”

The Lady Tornadoes will look to make those adjustments in their next game on Friday, when they travel to East Islip to take on the Redmen. East Islip has a 1-1 record to begin league play, with a win over Babylon and a loss to Hauppauge.

The next home game for Harborfields comes on April 10, when Kings Park comes to Greenlawn for a 10 a.m. start.