Sophia DeRosa, Caroline DeBellis propel Cold Spring Harbor

Something clicked on Tuesday after practice for Sophia DeRosa and Caroline DeBellis.

With DeRosa playing down low and DeBellis playing up high, the Cold Spring Harbor offense fired on all cylinders Wednesday.

DeRosa had five goals and three assists, and DeBellis had four goals and an assist to lead host Cold Spring Harbor to a convincing 13-2 win over Long Beach in a Nassau I girls lacrosse game.

“Usually in practice we’ll go back and forth to each other and we’ll never really hit from low to high, and it was actually yesterday that we practiced after practice to try to feed to each other,” said DeRosa, who scored or assisted the first four goals of the game. “It just ended up working. I guess it transferred into today.”

While DeRosa and DeBellis picked apart the Long Beach defense, it was the Seahawks defense that gave the duo ample opportunities. A unit led by Paige Vegna, Sophia Taglich, Caroline Atkinson and Niki Mormile dominated, allowing just eight shots and causing numerous turnovers.

Couple that with a 12-6 draw advantage, and the Seahawks dominated possession. They held Long Beach (4-2) scoreless for over 30 minutes between the first and second halves.

“If I was caught in a double-team between either of those four kids, I’d be scared,” CSH coach Danielle Castellane said. “I think that group has really dominated. I don’t think there are four better lower defenders in the conference.”

SEE PHOTOSLong Beach vs. Cold Spring Harbor girls lacrosse

A 4-1 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half quickly extended to 6-1, as DeBellis and Grace Hudson scored 12 seconds apart for Cold Spring Harbor (4-2). The Seahawks went into the half with an 8-1 lead and built a 13-1 lead before Long Beach scored the final goal.

Long Beach, coming off an impressive win over early-season surprise Syosset, struggled to produce offense and maintain possessions, turning the ball over at a high clip. Sarah Reznick (seven saves) did her best to keep the Marines in contention, but the relentless Cold Spring Harbor offense was too much to handle.

Cold Spring Harbor assisted eight of its 10 non-free position goals, a testament to its efforts to keep the ball moving.

“When they’re in a backer, we usually just move it quickly and look for the skip passes, which leaves the middle open,” DeBellis said.

DeRosa and DeBellis seemed to always be open. That extra practice had them clicking.