Manhasset beats NHP in quarterfinals

The 4th-seeded Manhasset Lady Indian’s defeated 12th-seed New Hyde Park Lady Gladiators 1-0 in the Nassau A quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon. 
Kendall Sims netted the lone goal as Manhasset moves on to the semifinals to take on top seeded South Side at Cold Spring Harbor High School Saturday afternoon.
Manhasset head coach Christopher Keen said he is proud of the girl’s effort as the defense held on late in the game to make Sim’s tally stand out as the winning goal. 
“Kendall’s finish was great,” Keen said. “Halle Palmedo took the ball up the middle and had the whole field in front of her. She does a great job seeing the field and deciding when to pass.”
New Hyde Park head coach Kim Teemsma said despite coming up short, the Lady Gladiators played a great game and fought till the end.
“We worked so hard all season and they played with everything they had,” Teemsma said. “They put their heart, soul and every last bit of energy into it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get lucky with a few goals.”
In the first half, Manhasset outshot New Hyde Park 6-2. For the first 20 minutes, 
Manhasset outworked the opposition in the attacking third and clogged up the midfield. In the last twenty minutes of the first half, New Hyde Park picked up their play. 
They applied pressure in the Manhasset zone by passing around and generating shots from the outside. New Hyde Park had an opportunity to give themselves a 1-0 lead with eleven minutes remaining in the half. 
However, what appeared to be a goal was disallowed, as the game remained scoreless going into the half. 
Keen said he told the girls during halftime that no Manhasset team has made it further than the quarterfinals and he didn’t want the game to go to overtime.
“I said don’t let this game be decided on a bad foul and miscommunication,” Keen said. “They had to make sure this game was decided by their own effort and to their credit, they went out and did that.”
In the second half, Sims broke a scoreless tie to give Manhasset a 1-0 lead with 24 minutes left to play. 
After New Hyde Park goalkeeper Samantha Petriello stopped a shot by Palmedo, Sims picked up the rebound and took shot from outside the crease that sailed into the left side of the net.  
Sims said it was great to score the decisive goal and it took a team effort to nail down the victory.
“We all had good communication and made good passes to each other,” Sims said. “It felt good that we all worked together and were able to win.” 
Petriello said the loss was hard as she did her best to keep her team in the game with 10 saves.
“It was such a close game,” Petriello said. “Everyone at the last minute was throwing themselves at the ball. We pushed through and gave it our all at the end.”
Keen said getting back to back shutouts in the postseason from goalkeeper Nadia Sbuttoni and the play of their back four was the difference in advancing to the semifinals.
“It starts from there and there’s a lot of confidence with Nadia,” Keen said. “I can’t say enough about my back four. 
They never wavered or got nervous and I think our team knows that. 
They’re not going to let a ball get by them so they have the confidence to be more aggressive up top.”
Weekly Girls Soccer Scores
Monday, Oct. 24
New Hyde Park defeated Lynbrook 5-1. 
Tiffany Velin led the 12-seeded New Hyde Park with two goals while Julia Aronov recorded a goal and three in the Nassau Class A first-round playoff game. 
New Hyde Park advances to play 4th seed Manhasset on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
Tuesday, Oct. 25
Port Washington defeated Herricks 3-2. 
Junior Rebecca Rosen headed in a corner kick from her older sister Rachel with six seconds left in the second overtime to lead the third seeded Port Washington over 11th-seed Herricks in the Nassau-AA quarterfinals. 
Rachel recorded two goals and one assist. 
Port Washington moves on to play Calhoun in the semifinals at Cold Spring Harbor on Friday, Oct. 28.
Friday, Oct. 28
Calhoun defeated Port Washington 1-0.  
Annie Coogan led the second seeded Calhoun with the lone goal in the 61st minute in the Nassau Class AA semifinals. 
Katie Healy assisted on Coogan’s goal while Calhoun goalkeeper Gillian Stapler stopped 10 shots.
Saturday, Oct. 29
South Side defeated Manhasset 5-1. 
Jolie Creo led top seeded South with a hat trick while Alex McNicholas scored twice in the Nassau A semifinals.