Dakota Horton, Gabbi Arguelles help Smithtown West bounce back with win

The Smithtown West girls soccer team had 12 days between contests, and when you have a previous performance like the Bulls did, nearly two full weeks without game action can feel like an eternity.

Smithtown West had about as poor a result as a team can have 12 days ago. But that time to train, adjust, and reflect was exactly what the host Bulls needed to defeat Eastport-South Manor, 2-1, in Suffolk Division II girls soccer action on Monday.

“We wanted to get back and hit the ground running,” junior midfielder Gabbi Arguelles said. “We know we’re a better team than how we played.”

Dakota Horton scored both goals off assists from Arguelles for Smithtown West (2-2, 2-1). Horton struck first when she crashed the net to score off a rebound following a diving save by the Eastport-South Manor goalkeeper. She scored less than six minutes into the contest, as the Bulls were determined for a fast start after their 7-0 loss to East Islip on Sept. 10.

“We had to get our heads back up and put that game in the past,” Horton said. “We were focusing on what’s in front of us. We know what we’re capable of, and this kind of showed that.”

“The first thing we said today in the locker room was that we needed to get the first goal,” Arguelles said. “That just set the tone.”

After scoring with 34:14 left in the first half, Horton struck again with 7:06 left in the first half, scoring off a rebound following a shot by Arguelles after a long throw-in by Jacqueline Vinas.

Ava Golden scored with 20:18 left in the second half for Eastport-South Manor (6-1-1, 4-1-1).

Aside from moving past their performance against East Islip, the players also had redemption in mind after losing to Eastport-South Manor in penalty kicks in the Suffolk Class AA semifinals last year.

Coach Michael Forman could tell how important it was to the players to have a stronger performance on Monday after the East Islip contest.

“It ate on us a lot, as a coaching staff and on them,” Forman said. “We knew it was good because now we had some time to tinker on what we needed to work on, but it’s a long time to sit and wait between a game that was, for lack of better words, an embarrassment for us.”

Forman called the time off both a blessing and a curse. It gave time to make adjustments, but the players couldn’t move completely on from the loss without playing. But once it was time to play, Forman knew he didn’t need to provide special motivators.

“I didn’t have to get on them,” Forman said. “Coach [Jill] Meaney didn’t have to get on them at practice. They kind of knew they got embarrassed last time and they wanted to play for themselves and play for their school and play with pride.”