Emma Muccioli's unselfishness and Lily Krollage's goal deliver Babylon another girls soccer Suffolk 'B' title
The Babylon girls soccer team celebrates after defeating Center Moriches for the Suffolk Class B title on Saturday. Credit: Errol Anderson
Emma Muccioli dribbled with tons of space along the right sideline inside the final four minutes of a scoreless game. She had the space to shoot toward the far post.
But she didn’t. In fact, she didn’t even consider it.
Instead, the Babylon junior lifted her head and made the smart and unselfish play, finding senior Lily Krollage across the 6-yard box for a tap-in finish that made all the difference for the top-seeded Panthers in their 1-0 win over No. 2 Center Moriches in the girls soccer Suffolk Class B championship game at Southampton High School Saturday afternoon.
“Lily has had so many goals this year, she’s the one I trust with my whole life,” Muccioli said. “If there was anyone I wanted to get the ball to, it would be Lily.”
Babylon (8-6-3) has won a county title in three of the last four years and will advance to face Cold Spring Harbor (3-12-2) in the Long Island Class B championship in a state Class B subregional.
“The friendships and team bonding — us as a whole, aside from skill-wise — it’s just really special,” Krollage said.
Krollage, who scored her 16th goal of the season Saturday, had been pushing for a goal all game. She did well to win a penalty kick in the first half but shot it just over the bar. Coach Stuart Love praised both Krollage and Muccioli — calling the latter “on fire” in the second half — and noted his senior captain’s resiliency to bounce back and score what proved to be the winning goal.
The Babylon girls soccer team runs toward the stands to celebrate with friends and family. Credit: Errol Anderson
“I think [Krollage] composed herself really well and played a great second half,” Love said. “I think it was only fitting that she got the winning goal.”
A swarming Babylon defense of seniors Carissa Arena, Alex Esposito, Katie Bellone made attacking through the middle of the field seemingly impossible for Center Moriches (5-11-1). Red Devils goalie Gabriella Cerillo stood out in goal, keeping the game level until the final minutes with nine saves.
Babylon senior goalie Gianna Durler wasn’t tested often — she didn’t need to make a first-half save — but stepped up to the mark with six saves over the game’s final 40 minutes.
The best came off a shot from Center Moriches junior Sara Amaya midway through the second half, which Durler punched up into the crossbar and sprung up to grab the rebound.
The Babylon girls soccer team celebrates after defeating Center Moriches for the Suffolk Class B title on Saturday. Credit: Errol Anderson
“She’s committed to play D-I at Stony Brook, and for a small school like us to have a goalie of that stature, we just feel like we’re going to be in every game with her at goalie,” Love said. “She’s got a great pair of hands, we can really rely on her and she’s a big reason why we’re here.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
