Sports

Sachem East Field Hockey Back in Suffolk County Championship [Photos]

Katie Trombetta leads Arrows with two goals in win over Bay Shore.

Bay Shore came firing on all cylinders during a two-minute stretch in the second half against Sachem East.

First it was a Marauder rush towards the goal that had East goalie Jordan Miller sprawling to block the ball.

“I knew I had to do whatever I could to not let the ball get past me,” she said.

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Next she made a key save on a penalty stroke with 17 minutes left.

That defensive production helped Sachem East preserve a 2-1 victory in the Suffolk County Class A semifinals Monday at home.

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Top-seeded Sachem (17-1) moves on to play rival Ward Melville in the Suffolk County championship Thursday at 5 p.m. at Newfield High School.

After a scoreless first half, Katie Trombetta scored two goals within four minutes of each other at the 28 and 24 minute marks of the second half. The first followed a mad dash of Sachem players towards No. 4 Bay Shore’s goal. The second came off a penalty stroke and served as the eventual game winning tally.

Bay Shore’s Allie Dolder scored her team’s only goal with 23 minutes left off an assist from Kyra Harney, the daughter of Sean Harney and Rebecca Braddish, two longtime Sachem teachers.

Miller had her key saves during Bay Shore’s major offensive surge in the second half, but they couldn’t break Sachem defensively.

“They kept pressuring us, kept coming down on us,” Miller said.

Sachem coach Tina Moon said Bay Shore plays with a different style than what her team is used to. The Arrows were forced to pressure more inside the circle and create tips.

“Our pressuring was a lot better this game,” she said.

Thursday’s game against Ward Melville has been a year in the making. The shallow feeling of last season’s 1-0 overtime defeat in the county final still exists.

“We really want to take it home this year,” Miller said.

“We have a bitter taste in our mouth because we didn’t capitalize last year and I felt like we outplayed them at one point,” Moon said. “We’re ready and we want this game.”


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