Keira Bloch's four goals in first quarter lead East Islip girls lacrosse past Bellmore JFK
East Islip's Keira Bloch, center, fights through a check from Bellmore JFK's Dakota Hoehn, right, during a non-league girls lacrosse game on Saturday at East Islip. Credit: Neil Miller
The youth movement the East Islip girls lacrosse team ushered in last spring is clicking well ahead of schedule.
In the team’s first cross county meeting against Bellmore JFK, East Islip’s young crew struck early and often and pulled away with a 14-2 win at home thanks to four first-quarter goals from sophomore Keira Bloch.
The game was called at halftime due to the heavy rainfall.
“We’ve been preparing all preseason long, and we had a game plan and I think we executed pretty well,” Bloch said. “It was very difficult because we could barely see the ball with the rain, but we wanted to come out strong and get an early lead.”
They did just that as East Islip (2-0) outscored Bellmore JFK 9-2 in the first quarter. Nikki Ayoub scored on a free position shot to put the Cougars on the board with 7:37 left, but East Islip dominated almost every draw control and left little chance for Bellmore JFK to slice the three-goal lead.
Bellmore JFK's Nicole Donoghue found Jordi Wohlleben with 3:47 remaining, but Bloch responded in less than 30 seconds. Freshman Anna Kohlhoff closed the quarter with one of her three goals.
“We’re most excited about our offense this season,” Kohlhoff said. “We communicate and execute well and today we we’re just connecting the way we’ve been practicing.”
“We have such a good bond that we know we’re going to be even if we’re not communicating,” Bloch added. “Even if we have an off day, we still know how to work together and get the job done.”
Senior Kiley Nolan made two saves for East Islip and Adrianna Califano stopped six shots for Bellmore JFK (1-2).
East Islip’s starting lineup returns a year older and wiser, composed of three sophomores, two freshmen, and an eighth-grader.
“We’re still very young,” coach Steve Levy said. “We still have our growing pains, but they we’re all on the team last year so they have that experience at this level and are clicking very well together so far. I’ve been so impressed with their talent.”
After securing an 8-0 win over Vestal on Friday, which won the Section IV Class C championship last season, East Islip is looking to make a statement this year.
“We feel good going into this season now that we gained experience together on the field last year,” Kohlhoff said. “There’s always room for more improvement, but we’re coming back stronger this season.”
