Schools
PLAYOFFS: Lady Cyclones Shutout Wantagh in Class A Quarters, 3-0
Victory sets up rematch of last year's county title game against Garden City.
South Side proved once again why it's one of the elite girls soccer programs on Long Island with a 3-0 quarterfinal playoff victory over Wantagh on Tuesday afternoon at Dean Skelos Field in Rockville Centre.
Christina Klaum registered her second hat trick in as many games of the Class A playoffs to lead the No. 2 seed Lady Cyclones in the win. Tenth-seeded Wantagh withstood a potent South Side attack at points in the game, led by senior goalkeeper Brenna Smith who finished with 12 total saves, but sparingly found chances on the other end in the season-ending effort.
“We are making the connecting passes that we had been doing, but now we're actually finishing them,” said South Side head coach Shannon McEntee. “Christina [Klaum] is really finding herself up top. She is a player out there. Defensively, my backs are very strong with moving the ball.”
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Klaum, who is a sophomore, increased her playoff total to six goals in the latest decision against Wantagh on Tuesday and in a 6-0 win over Lynbrook on Oct. 28. Junior Michaela Lynch found Klaum for the first goal in just the sixth minute of the opening half. Eight minutes later, the duo connected once again to help South Side collect a 2-0 lead.
Midway through the second half, Wantagh's Brenna Connolly and Kaitlyn Kingston got the Warrior offense going again with the clock counting down, but just minutes later, Klaum put in a loose ball past Smith for a 3-0 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the quarterfinal match up.
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“We take each game slowly at first," Klaum said. "We have so many opportunities and keep possession most of the time as a team, but we just need to work on shooting and finishing. We need to play calmly. Defensively, we need to stay strong, and offensively, we need to keep moving and taking shots.”
For South Side, its goal still remains intact as the team moves on to face third-seeded Garden City on Friday afternoon at Denton Avenue Field in New Hyde Park. Last year, South Side had its string of 13 straight Nassau County titles ended by Garden City in the Nassau County Class A championship.
“We are looking forward to playing Garden City again," said McEntee. "It is one game at a time, though."
