North Shore poised for success

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After a successful 2018 campaign, the North Shore girls’ lacrosse team returns to improve in the win department in a tough Nassau Conference I.

Fortunately for coach Meghan McCormack, a key group of seniors and juniors with ample varsity experience return. She feels the most important nuance of her team, though, is its togetherness.

“They absolutely love being and playing together,” McCormack said. “It’s a little easier when there are two groups of sisters on the team that have been playing together forever.”

Those two groups of sisters are the Colberts and the Fitzpatricks. For the Colberts, eldest sister and senior Caitlin leads the pack with 18 points on the young season. Sophomore Casey Colbert is second with 12 points, and eighth-grader Kylee Colbert is closing in with 9 points. “Caitlin is basically the quarterback of our offense,” McCormack said. “She is a big leader on attack, and her sisters are definitely following in her footsteps.”

North Shore’s other sisters are a duo. Senior Emma Fitzpatrick and junior Micaela Fitzpatrick both have seized points on the young season. Beyond the sisters, the roster features additional standout players including seniors Andrea Liotta and Olivia Shatz, juniors Gabby Scott and goalie Emma Russo, and freshman Kate Gilliam.

“Both Emma Fitzpatrick and Andrea Liotta are very defensively smart,” McCormack said. “They all gel really well and work extremely hard. The most important part is that they hold each other accountable.”

The Lady Vikings currently sit at 2-1 in Nassau Conference I with two distinctly different types of wins over game opponents. North Shore opened up league play with a tough, come-from-behind victory against Massapequa. Down by two goals going into halftime, McCormack had to rethink her team’s strategy to change the outcome of the game.

“We were down in the beginning and had to adjust our gameplan,” McCormack said. “This group does not hang their heads when things get tough. They play every minute like it is their last.” North Shore eventually took home an 8-7 victory on its home field.

On April 4, North Shore’s successes were much more plentiful, as was its goal total. A 15-6 victory over Port Washington, where eight different girls scored and nine collected a point, was a convincing win for an increasingly talented team.

“We came out on fire,” McCormack said. “We tried to win every single minute of the game. Fighting back from adversity is great, but having these kind of wins is great as well.”

Those two wins bode well for an upcoming matchup with Conference I perennial powerhouse Manhasset. “They are very good, and very fast,” McCormack said. “But the ability we have to adjust the way we play, and our focus on what we do well, we can be successful.

“I think we can have a very long run in the playoffs,” McCormack said. “Winning is this team’s aspirations, and they are eager and willing to do whatever it takes to win.”