Kenice Wilson helps Connetquot girls soccer kick past Northport in Suffolk AAA quarterfinals

Even before stepping on the field for the team’s first official practice, the Connetquot girls soccer team had October 25 on its mind. Gone were the days of just being satisfied by making the playoffs, Connetquot is determined to make this season one for the record book. 

Connetquot continues its hopeful run toward its first county title in program history following a 4-1 home victory over No. 5 Northport in girls soccer Suffolk Class AAA quarterfinals on Wednesday night.

“This was a date we had on our calendar,” coach Ryan Cavanagh said. “We didn’t know what team would be here, but this was our focal point from August. October 25 was the date. We knew we’d be playing and we knew we had to come out and we had to show what we’ve been working on for 20 years here, just to get over this hump and get to a game with an opportunity to do something special.”

No. 4 Connetquot (10-2-4) is aware of the challenge awaiting next with a matchup at top-seeded and defending state champion Ward Melville on Saturday. Ward Melville is 14-0-3 and the two teams played to a 1-1 tie during the regular season.

“Ward Melville is an amazing team but it’s something we are ready for,” said Kaylin Mallon, a junior midfielder. “It’s something we’ve been practicing for all season and I think going into it with an open mind and not shutting out any ideas just because they are state champions is very ideal for us. If we come out with the idea we can take this team, the world’s our oyster.”

Mallon started the offense for Connetquot on Wednesday, scoring less than 15 minutes into the match. After having her initial shot saved near the net, Mallon stayed with the play, corralled a rebound and scored on her second attempt to give Connetquot a 1-0 lead with 26:44 left in the first half.

“She saved it, great save, but when the ball came back out, I knew I had to get it in,” Mallon said. “I knew that if I had that goal in, the team would just rise up and that’s what we did.”

Kenice Wilson scored the next two goals for Connetquot. She finished a breakaway following a touch from Giavanna Meservy and scored off a rebound roughly five minutes later to give Connetquot a 3-0 lead with 12:22 left in the first half.

Meservy scored off a 31-yard free kick to take a 4-0 lead 10 minutes into the second half. Brooke Heffernan scored for Northport with 27:57 left in the contest.

“We practiced really hard for this moment, specifically,” Wilson said. “And we really performed well. We did what we knew we could do.”

Cavanagh wasn’t shocked to see Wilson come through with two goals in a quarterfinal. He said the junior has been dominant in scrimmages lately, and it shined on Wednesday.

“Kenice is just an unbelievable player,” Cavanagh said. “She plays with her back to the goal better than anybody in the county. It’s zero surprise to me. … She’s just a gift. We’re just blessed to have her.”

But the Connetquot players and coaches aren’t naive to the challenges that await them. They aren’t surprised either. If they wanted to make program history, they figured they’d need to take down Ward Melville at some point to do so.

“For us to win this game, for our program, it’s monumental,” Cavanagh said. “But we started the season not with the goal to get to the semifinal, we started the season with Ward Melville in mind knowing how talented they are and knowing we’d have to go through them to get to where we want to go. And now we have it in front of us. It’s all we could want.”