The one about the Yellow Jackets

Brace yourselves for this piece of news: Long Island girls did well in a lacrosse competition!
The Yellow Jackets won a second straight Under-15 national championship on July 22 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista. The Yellow Jackets defeated Stars Gold of Virginia, 10-3, in a rematch of last year’s final.

Kyra Harney (Bay Shore) had two goals and an assist to lead the Yellow Jackets, a travel team led by Northport girls varsity coach Carol Rose. Samantha Giacolone (Eastport-South Manor) made eight saves and Julia Michaels (Mt. Sinai) had two. Kasey Behr (St. Anthony’s) and Kasey Mitchell (Mt. Sinai) each added a goal and an assist. Monika Sivilli (Glenn), Nikki Ortega (Middle Country), Julia Sarcona (Northport) and Mt. Sinai sisters Sydney and Shayna Pirreca each scored a goal.

Adding to the dominant performance, the Yellow Jackets did it to a team that had entered having outscored their previous six tournament opponents 95-19.

The Yellow Jackets rebound from a 2-1 deficit early and took a 5-2 lead to intermission on Sarcona’s goal – off a pass from Harney – with 1:32 left in the half. After Stars Gold scored early in the second half, the Yellow Jackets scored five unanswered, highlighted by Harney’s two goals.

The Long Island Top Guns also had a good showing, taking fourth place in the tournament. They had lost, 12-6, to the Yellow Jackets in the semifinals and fell to Top of the Bay (Maryland), 11-10, in overtime of the consolation game.

Kasey Behr, Harney, Alex Flobeck (Mt. Sinai) and Katie Trombetta (Sachem East) were the Yellow Jackets named to the all-tournament team. West Islip’s Riley Hill received that honor representing the Top Guns.