Plainedge girls soccer turns up the pressure in second half to beat Mepham

As it works to be a playoff contender, the Plainedge girls soccer team took a step in the right direction on Thursday.

Plainedge topped Mepham 2-0, on goals from Avery Peters and Victoria Truncali, under the lights during a non-league matchup in North Massapequa.

With early possession, Mepham immediately applied offensive pressure. Victoria Olson was the first to test the Red Devils’ defense, but Michela Netto swiftly regained possession for Plainedge (6-1-1). The junior captain has been a defensive force for Plainedge all season and is a major contributor to the team’s third shutout this fall.

“I try to unite the team by communicating from the back as much as I can,” Netto, a Maryland commit, said. “Keeping the team calm under pressure and moving the ball forward is what’s most important in those moments.”

After 39 minutes of back-and-forth action in the midfield, Plainedge earned its most promising scoring opportunity in the final minute of the first half. Gisselle Gonzalez uncorked a corner kick into a sea of home-team red but, after a few header attempts, the ball was deflected out of the 18-yard box as the clock expired with the score knotted at zero.

With the first possession of the second half and goalkeeper Cayla Bloom out of position, Stephanie Okolie found herself with an opportunity in front of an empty net, but Gonzalez came up with a clutch defensive stop to keep Mepham (4-4) off the board.

After such a close call, Plainedge reached for the momentum it began to build in the first half and multiplied it.

“The captains really turned it up at halftime,” coach Jairo Chiccas said. “Before [the coaches] even got to the huddle they were already talking it up which is exactly what we needed.”

Plainedge began to dominate possession time. Jaclyn Frucci rattled off a shot that drew a gasp from the stands, but it sailed just wide of the cage. Then, in the 55th minute, the stalemate was broken. From the top of the box, Peters snuck the ball past Lia DiPreta to give the Red Devils a  1-0 lead.

With the relief of being on the board, Plainedge’s offense began to loosen up, controlling the ball enough that Mepham could not breach the 50-yard line for the remainder of the match. So when Truncali's  hard shot extended the Red Devils’ lead to 2-0 in the 78th minute, they knew the deal was sealed.

“Even though this is a non-league game, it’s still an important win toward our record,” Peters said. “Every game is just more experience for us, so now we can be better as we move on to the next.”