VIDEO: Sachem East Captures Suffolk County Title

Sachem East field hockey coach Tina Moon didn't know whether to cry, scream or smile as the clock expired Thursday night.

At the same field against the same opponent, her field hockey team erased the memory of last season’s defeat as Sachem beat Ward Melville, 5-0, in the Suffolk County Class A championship at Newfield High School.

“We knew losing last year was a thorn in our sides,” she said. “It was a focus we needed and wanted to win a county championship.”

Sachem (18-1) advances to the Class A Long Island championship Saturday at Stony Brook against Massapequa at 11 a.m.

Aside from one close shot that Ward Melville (14-5) unleashed in the first half which skated by goalie Sam Alvino, there wasn’t much that got near the Sachem East net.

Sachem allowed just three shots against the Patriots and 11 the entire playoff run. This marks the third straight post-season shutout for Alvino and Jordan Miller. Sachem East has also outscored Ward Melville, 13-0, in three games this season.

“We wanted to show them that we were the No. 1 team,” said sophomore Katie Trombetta. “It wasn’t going to be a 1-0 game. We were going to push it as far as we could so we could show them we are No. 1. Coming into this game brought back memories of last year. That wasn’t going to happen again.”

Sachem opened the game with a Trombetta Special, a goal by Cara, served up by her big sister, Katie, at 18:29. That proved to be the game winner.

Katie Doherty scored twice in the first half and Sachem took a 3-0 lead. Kristen Bagley, who recorded a goal and two assists in the win, scored at 27:10 of the second half and Karyn Ryan nailed in another goal with 11:49 left.

“I said to them this is like firecrackers,” Moon said of her team’s scoring surge, “let the booms keep coming and they did, they did a great job.”