Winning never gets old. At least that’s what the Sachem East field hockey team should get emblazoned on shirts at this point.
The girls captured their third straight Class A Long Island championship with a 6-1 victory over Massapequa Wednesday night at Dowling Sports Complex and the smiles are just as bright as they were three years ago, just as gleaming as the clock wound down to zero.
The Arrows (19-0) advance to the New York State Class A semifinals at Cicero-North Syracuse on Nov. 16 where their road continues for a third straight state title.
Sachem East has not lost a game since Oct. 24, 2011, a stretch of 742 days. That’s a mark of 62-1 over the last three seasons, including 48 straight since the last loss.
Sachem jumped on the board early with a tally from Katie Shanahan just 5:37 into the contest.
Massapequa didn’t come across midfield with the ball until 18 minutes into the first half and eventually scored at 5:23.
Kyle Larkin answered back with a goal for Sachem East to make it 2-1 just two minutes later before half.
If you thought Sachem had a fairly dominant first half, it flipped a switch and took it to another level in the second, piling on four more goals, including one hard slap shot from senior captain Katie Trombetta.
“In the second half we got more hungry we weren’t up enough for our comfort and eventually it came,” Trombetta said.
“Every year we lose key players and every year more people step up and each team deserves it on their own,” said Trombetta of the winning flow the program has had the last three years.
“Every year is a new team and it’s fun to experience it with them and make new memories,” added senior Katie Doherty, who has now personally won five Long Island Championships between Sachem East basketball and field hockey.
They’re not done making memories yet. Business will be finished when the ultimate three-peat is achieved upstate.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro