St. Anthony's players celebrate a goal by Katie DeSimone against Manhasset during a non-conference girls lacrosse game on Thursday. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

By Kenny DeJohn Newsday

A timid start by the St. Anthony’s girls lacrosse team put the Friars at a one-goal disadvantage at halftime.

Coach Summer Koepplin’s pep talk centered on playing like there was nothing to lose. Against Manhasset, ranked No. 1 in Newsday’s girls lacrosse rankings and No. 2 in the nation by US Lacrosse, St. Anthony’s could ill afford to play tight.

The Friars proceeded to win the first five draws and score the first five goals of the second half, setting the stage for an 11-9 win over the Indians in a late-season non-league contest in South Huntington. Katie DeSimone scored four goals — three in the first half when offense was hard to find — and Erin O’Grady made four of her six saves in the second half.

“Manhasset is a fantastic team, so you go in there just prepared for a battle,” Koepplin said. “In the second half, I think they were just ready to leave everything on the field.”

With Charlotte Verhulst taking the draw, Koepplin shifted Sophia Iaccino to the circle to add height. She and Hunter Roman helped Verhulst earn pivotal possessions late in the game.

Emma LoPinto had given Manhasset (12-2) a 6-5 lead with 5:54 left before halftime. Kira Accettella assisted Natalie Smith 58 seconds into the second half to tie the score, then DeSimone converted a free position less than a minute later for a 7-6 St. Anthony's lead.

Verhulst followed with consecutive goals, then Accettella punctuated the 5-0 run by corralling a rebound and firing quickly before the defense could react. St. Anthony’s (13-1) led 10-6 with 7:31 remaining.

“We knew we couldn’t let up,” said DeSimone, a junior. “They’re a good team, and we didn’t want to give them any wiggle room to come back.”

Manhasset made the game close when Maria Themelis scored consecutive player-up goals inside the final three minutes and cut the deficit to 11-9, but the St. Anthony’s defense rejected a further push.

Taking direction from O’Grady — a sophomore who Koepplin said is the most vocal player on the field — the defense shined. Colleen Mooney and Allison Koehler made big stops and pressured Manhasset’s top options, limiting the Indians’ ability to create.

“Our defense really stepped up,” O’Grady said. “We played really well in the first half, but it was lights out in the second half.”

DeSimone is calling this the team’s revenge tour, as losing in last spring’s CHSAA championship game to Sacred Heart left a sour taste. Peaking at the right time, the Friars seem ready for the challenge.

Kira Accettella of St. Anthony's gets congratulated by teammates Charlotte Verhulst, left, and Sophia Iaccino, middle, after scoring a goal in overtime to give the Friars an 11-10 win over host Garden City in a non-league girls lacrosse game on Tuesday. Photo Credit: James Escher

By Kenny DeJohn Newsday

Kira Accettella calls it “The Twizzler.” The St. Anthony’s girls lacrosse team calls it “The Winner.”

Accettella received the entry pass from Katie DeSimone and raced from right to left across the front of the cage. As she reached the top of the crease, she lowered the head of her stick, flipped her wrists and shoveled in a backhanded goal with 1:28 left in overtime, sending the St. Anthony’s bench into a frenzy.

The Friars had just beaten host Garden City, 11-10, after a wild 9-1 run in the second half gave St. Anthony’s a 10-8 lead in the annual non-league rivalry game on Tuesday.

“For the past three years, I’ve been on this team and we’ve always lost to Garden City,” Accettella said. “It’s always been an emotional game for us.”

Garden City (2-1) scored the game’s first seven goals and nearly pitched a first-half shutout, but Sophia Iaccino assisted Victoria Goldrick with 55.4 seconds left to send St. Anthony’s (3-0) into halftime facing a 7-1 deficit.

The main culprit, among other lesser issues, was in the draw circle, where Garden City held a 7-3 advantage. That changed after the intermission.

St. Anthony’s drawtaker Charlotte Verhulst helped her team win 10 of the 14 draws in the second half. She and Hunter Roman were a consistent connection, as Verhulst pushed and pulled to make sure the ball went in her direction.

“It was all about Charlotte. She did it,” Accettella said.

“Well, it was everyone,” Verhulst quickly added. “I knew a lot of those girls. I knew who was on the draw.”

Verhulst had three goals and assisted Accettella’s goal — the third man-up goal within 31 seconds — that tied the score at 8 with 13:32 remaining in regulation. Accettella fed Goldrick to go up 9-8, then DeSimone struck for a 10-8 lead.

Jen Kubler and Alex Hopkins (four goals) scored consecutively for the Trojans to tie the game, and Emily Gaven made two point-blank saves in the final 40 seconds to send the game to overtime.

“Their character came out in this game,” Friars coach Summer Koepplin said. “We were down by a lot in the first half. They almost shut us out in the first half. For them to come back from that, especially on defense, it was phenomenal.”

Accettella and Verhulst, both Stony Brook commits, willed St. Anthony’s to an emotional early spring win. It was “The Twizzler” that made it happen.

Accettella is also fond of the candies of the same name.

“I love them,” she said.

They’re sweet, just like the taste of victory.