Kellenberg girls lacrosse goalie Delaney Clark makes 13 saves, keys win over St. Dominic

Delaney Clark was struggling to find the words. And it wasn’t because she didn’t know what to say. It was because there wasn’t much voice left in her body after leading the Kellenberg defense both physically and vocally.

The Kellenberg girls lacrosse senior goalkeeper calls it her “spring voice.” A light, raspy tone that is especially prevalent postgame. The raspier the better, because it likely means the game was competitive and Clark was more incentivized to make her presence known.

“I always want to share with my teammates and make sure they can hear me even on the other side of the field,” Clark said. “So I scream pretty loud.”

On Monday, it was largely positive affirmations, or at least messages leading to positive results for host Kellenberg in its 10-4 victory over St. Dominic in a CHSAA Class AA matchup. Clark made 13 saves and did not allow a goal in the second half.

“Nothing really surprises me," sophomore midfielder Mairead O’Sullivan said, "because every game she comes out with the same amount of heat. She’s honestly sick. I don’t know any goalie who’s like her.”

O'Sullivan referred to Clark as the fire of the Firebirds. 

Coach Anne Masiulis called Clark’s play “insane” on Monday.

“We know how good she is, we’ve had her on our team since her sophomore year,” Masiulis said. “But she finally got the game that she deserved to shine in. And she never thinks about herself or makes it about her, so I could not be happier for her.”

Clark was challenged often, including on free-position shots, but didn’t allow a goal over the final 26 minutes of the contest.

“I felt fired up,” Clark said. “The energy on the field [Monday] was what we’ve been waiting for all season… I’ve been on the team for three years now and this is the best I’ve ever seen us play.”

O’Sullivan had two goals and four assists, Ava Puccio had two goals and one assist and Kailyn Mastrogiovanni scored twice for Kellenberg (5-7, 1-4). Marlo Knox had two goals for St. Dominic (7-3, 2-2).

Kellenberg came into Monday on a four-game losing streak after facing some of the best teams on Long Island. Masiulis hopes this victory brings confidence as well.

“It was so necessary and needed, and as one of their coaches, it was so well deserved,” Masiulis said. “I wanted this for them so badly and I knew they could do it… it’s now finally shown in this big league win that we needed how much progress they’ve made.”