As I said yesterday, the winner of the Commack-Connetquot matchup would be the new No. 1 team in our Suffolk girls soccer rankings.
The T-Birds achieved that yesterday by out-hustling Commack to a 2-0 win.
Commack (8-1-1) has played more league games than Connetquot (7-1-1), so the Cougars still hold a slight advantage in the standings. But Commack concludes its regular season with games against Northport (6-1-2) and Sachem North (5-5), while the T-Birds round out the slate against the bottom three teams in the league — Bay Shore, Whitman and Central Islip, which are a combined 5-23 in League II play. So look for Connetquot to win the league crown and possibly be the top seed in the Class AA playoffs.
What surprised me yesterday about Commack was its listless play. The Cougars had a few opportunities early in the game, but once Connetquot scored, they really got stuck in the mud.
Commack did win the first go-around between these two teams, and yesterday was its first loss of the year. Every team has a bad game now and again, and maybe this one will serve as a wake-up call for coach Tracie Morenberg's girls.
Kelsey Dlugos was really held in check by the Connetquot defense, and Chelsea Intrabartola allowed two goals in a game for just the second time this season.
This team will be back though, and a possible rubber match in the playoffs is sure to be both entertaining and very physical.
**Just a quick note about East Hampton goalie Nicole Fierro before I go. The Bonackers have struggled this season — their 3-5-1 League VI record places them fifth in the seven-team league. But the all-county keeper has been quite a bright spot.
On Saturday, the senior (who is also a talented third baseman for the softball team) made 35 saves against Miller Place, including stops on four breakaway attempts, to preserve a 1-1 tie. Fierro has had her share of tough games (six goals allowed against Shoreham-Wading River and a seven-goal outburst by Miller Place the first time they played), but that is mostly due to a young defense and a struggling offense.
Solid effort by her to stifle the Panthers.
Okay, that's it for now. See ya'll out on the pitch!