Sports
Port Jefferson falls to Stony Brook 1-0 in the Suffolk County Class C Final
Stony Brook scores in double overtime to sink the Royals.
The Port Jefferson varsity girls soccer team was able to stave off constant pressure from The Stony Brook School for 80 minutes of regulation and over 17 minutes of overtime. At the 2:17 mark of the second overtime period, however, the Royals let the Lady Bears score to trigger a 1-0 loss in the Suffolk County Class C Championship Friday night at Diamond Pines Park in Coram.
Heroes: The main reason the Royals were able to keep Stony Brook at bay for so long was not only strong defensive play but also the stellar play of three-time All State keeper Christa Pappalardo. Pappalardo made 12 saves in net and was able to shut down Stony Brook before Michelle Hennessy scored just over two minutes before the game would be decided on penalty kicks.
"The focus was on shutting down their offense with good defense," head coach Jim Pagano said. "Our keeper has been All State for three years in a row. She's graduating now but she made a big difference in the game and we knew that right from the beginning."
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Turning Point: Although Stony Brook threatened inside Port Jefferson's zone for most of the second half and overtime, it came down to the 2:17 mark in the second overtime when Brianna Sticklickas found Hennessy inside for a goal that looked as if it would never come.
Quote: "We knew who we had to match up against and who we had to stop and that's who we did stop," Pagano said. "The bottom line was, they had several all state players last year because they won the championship last year and they returned this year and we knew who to stop and were able to do it right down to the end. The girls did a hell of a job."
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Bottom Line: The Lady Bears defense and constant offensive pressure proved to be too much in the end as Port Jefferson's playoff run ended Friday. The Royals finished in third place in League VIII play this season and were minutes away from a title. For the ten seniors graduating this year, the team had nothing to be ashamed of in its 2010 performance.
