Eighty minutes wasn't enough to decide the 2010 Suffolk County Class C Girls Soccer Championship.
It took two overtime periods to decide the championship match. Senior Michelle Hennessy finally broke through with 2 minutes 17 seconds left in the second overtime period to clinch the title for the Stony Brook School with a 1-0 victory over Port Jefferson.
Heroes: Hennessy scored off an assist from Brianna Sticklickas before the game would be decided by penalty kicks. A free kick set them up inside, and Sticklickas was able to get it to the feet of Hennessy who finally penetrated the brick wall that was Port Jefferson's keeper Christa Pappalardo, who had 12 saves in the game. Stony Brook keeper Danielle Pappas was no slouch in net either as she recorded 6 saves in the shutout victory.
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 Sticklickas found Hennessy inside for a goal that looked as if it would never come. Stony Brook shut down Port Jeff as the clock winded down and charged the field in celebration of its hard fought victory.
Quote: "I can't say enough about my defense," head coach Mark Maningo said. "The game plan was to come in and just play stifling defense and that's exactly what we did.
"We tried getting some more wing action in the beginning of the game then we went to only two forwards to try to open up some lanes. It started working and we had a couple close calls and kept their goalie busy, but 1-0 is the win. It could've been more, but they did a great job. PJ did us a nice service by giving us a really tough game because it's only going to help us down the road."
Bottom Line: The Lady Bears defense and constant offensive pressure proved to be too much for Port Jeff.
"We want to play this same kind of defense and are hoping to just get a little more offensive thrust next game," Maningo said. "Whether we're getting the wing action or finishing a few more balls. We've been averaging about three goals a game but today, you know, it's the Suffolk County Championship and they were up for it and we knew they would be. It was just a matter of coming out on top."
Who's Next? Stony Brook will move on to the Long Island Championships to face Friends Academy on Nov. 9.
