Hills West Girls Soccer Falls In Playoffs To East Islip, 2-1

Half Hollow Hills West girls soccer (13-2-0, 10-2-0 League IV) made an early exit from the playoffs Saturday after a four- overtime loss to East Islip (9-6-1, 8-4-0 League III).

Despite a tremendous offensive effort led by Julia DiMaria, the Colts, who scored just before the half, found themselves unable to finish off a determined East Islip.  Perhaps most importantly East Islip's goalkeeping was spot on, cutting off West whenever possible.

The short-lived, first-ever playoffs run is over, and the loss wasn't quite deserved, but the girls put forth a terrific effort, dominating Islip offensively.

Heroes: Julia DiMaria worked hard than anyone on the field, but credit goes to the entire offense for all the opportunities they had. Even though only DiMaria scored, the pressure they put on East Islip made the game seem far more one-sided than the score suggests.  Terrific play on the wings made it seem like Hills West was bound to walk away with a win well into overtime.

Turning Point: Kayla Roundsman's goal midway through the second half put the Colts in an awful position. That said, they never really let up offensively.  Though the goal caused the girls to put on the offensive pressure, it also made them rush things.  They weren't expecting to be tied at that point, making the eventual loss that much more damaging.

Quotable: "I'm really proud of the girls; they left it all on the field," said Coach Keith Ginsberg, who found himself almost at a loss for words. "They gave it 110% and should be proud of themselves and how they represented their school."

Stunned at the defeat, Ginsberg and the girls were pretty much speechless as their outstanding season came to an abrupt end.

Bottom Line: This was an undeserving loss for the Colts who controlled the ball for most of the game.  Ultimately, it was also an unlucky loss, as the final goal was the result of Lazerides being stretched just far enough from the net to be unable to make the save. Nothing speaks more to West's outstanding offense than Islip's 31 saves. Though the season may be over, the girls' tremendous effort won't be quickly forgotten.

Key Stat: Saves. Eleni Lazarides had a great season and performed well today, but East Islip's 31 saves stole the show today.  More importantly it shows just how uneven this game really was. The Colts held the offensive advantage through almost the entire game, but just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net. Islip's goalies did a great job of getting to the ball early, cutting off almost any potential open shots.

Half Hollow Hills West Girls Soccer

TEAM………....….1…2…OT1…OT2…OT3…OT4 – F

HHH West……....1…0…..0…...0….….0……..0    – 1

East Islip………...0…1…..0.…..0……..0….…..1    – 2

Goals – HHH West: DiMaria, Julia. East Islip: Roundsman, Kayla, Faughnan, Megan.
Saves – HHH West: Lazarides, Eleni 18. East Islip: Henderson, Dana 24, Votta, Christiana 7.