Coming off their first Long Island Class C championship since 2001, expectations are high for the Carle Place field hockey team. They finished the season with a stellar 16-2 record, including a 3-0 victory over Oyster Bay to capture the Nassau County title and a 5-1 victory over Southampton to claim the Long Island Championship.
Head coach Carol Nesdill, in her 12th season at the helm, will have to replace two of her biggest stars from last season; Lydia Rice and Shannon McGuiness. Both four-year starters, Rice has graduated and is now at Providence, while McGuiness is
at Dowling.
“They were the two key cogs,” said Nesdill. Fortunately, they will be returning Elissia Flein, the offensive machine who broke Long Island’s long-standing single-season scoring record last year with 49 goals. The previous record, ironically, was set in 1986 by Caren Krewchuck—also a Carle Place athlete.
Flein is now a senior—one of three on the team.
“It’s a very young team,” said Nesdill. “We do have some experience.” Of course, any returning player from last year has the experience of playing in the New York State finals.
In fact, they were just minutes away from being crowned New York State champs. After defeating East Rochester by the score of 2-1 in OT, they took on Whitney Point. With eight minutes remaining in the game, a ball that was deflected by a defender scooted right past Rice in goal for the only goal of the game.
“We were right there, we watched Whitney Point play the day before, too,” she added. By scouting them the previous game, it gave Carle Place a sense of comfort during their match. Unfortunately, it was not enough.
This year’s team will be predicated on strong offense and attack mid, according to Nesdill. Specifically, Sophia Urrutia and Kailee Pagnotta will look to spark the Frog’s offensive attack.
It will be no cakewalk this season. Due to their incredible run last season, they have been moved up to play the heavy weights of the county. No. 1 ranked Garden City and No. 2 ranked Manhasset will both be on the schedule twice. They actually took down Garden City 1-0 last season on September 27. Additionally, they will have to face No. 4 ranked Cold Spring Harbor and No. 5 ranked North Shore twice each.
They will be able to get a sense of where they stand at their Sept. 10 home match up against Garden City. That’s followed by a Sept. 17 away game at North Shore High School.
