For the first time in their school's history, players from the Islip High School's girls' soccer team, the Buccaneers, won the state championship.
The team defeated Jamesville-DeWitt in a 1-0 victory on November 15.
The win is the result of a hard-learned lesson: someone forgot to bring soccer balls to the second game of the season. As a result, the players had no opportunity to warm up properly, although their coach, Mike Reilly, had them do sprints as punishment, and said the first 11 girls to finish would play.
This meant that the lineup was incorrect and the Buccaneers lost the game. After that, star player Mary O'Hara said they realized they had to step up. The mistake at the second game was the turning point, and the team learned to work together, and went on to win the championship.
Various players have expressed how much the win means to them. Kerri McDonald said that for the rest of their lives, they will know they were the first to win a state title. Their joy was shared by fans, who turned out to meet the returning team in huge numbers. The team's bus was escorted to the high school by fire trucks.
School officials might consider working with a newsletter printing company on a special item for Mailing to Central Islip residents that profiles the team members and recaps the winning season.Get a Free Quote for Mailing
