Seaford defense makes Kaylie Conklin's goal stand up to win Nassau Class A title
Seaford players celebrate after winning the Nassau Class A girls soccer championship against Plainedge at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., on Saturday. Credit: Derrick Dingle
The Seaford girls soccer team’s offense wins games, but its defense wins championships.
Top-seeded Seaford defeated No. 3 Plainedge, 1-0, in the Nassau Class A championship on Saturday at Adelphi.
It did not take Seaford long to secure what would prove to be the game-winner. In the 12th minute, Meghan Stovall fired a corner kick into the box that was controlled by Grace Cullingford. She found Kaylie Conklin in the scrum, who slotted the ball past Plainedge goalkeeper Cayla Bloom to put Seaford up 1-0.
“We’ve been in similar situations before, so I know I just had to follow the ball,” Conklin said. “As soon as I saw it was a short ball, I knew we all had to crash in and I happened to be the one that got there.”
After gaining that early lead, Seaford still had 68 minutes to hold on to it. And Plainedge was not shaken.
Allison Younghans and Kenley Walsh continued to apply pressure on Seaford goalkeeper Cadan Calderaro, but the Vikings’ defense kept Plainedge off the board for the remainder of the half. In the 17th minute, Walsh sent a cross pass intended for Amanda Martone in front of an empty net, but the look was just out of Martone’s reach.
Calderaro, a freshman, recorded four saves to give her 66 in her first varsity season.
“We’ve been a really strong defensive unit for the past two years so when we graduated a senior goalkeeper, Caden stepped right in and we didn’t miss a beat,” Seaford coach Ken Botti said. “She’s been progressing all season and stays super calm and composed.”
The same could be said for Seaford's gritty defense. With Plainedge urgently trying to get on the board, the match got progressively more chippy and aggressive as the clock wound down.
Calderaro said she and her teammates thrive in those high-pressure situations.
“It’s great to play behind this defense,” Calderaro said. “We communicate really well so we’re able to play composed, keep it simple and play the ball up out of pressure whenever we can.”
Seaford (12-0-5) advanced to play Sayville in the Long Island championship game at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Harborfields High School. Plainedge finished 9-3-2.
Conklin said Seaford has what it takes to make a deep run.
“Something about our team is that we have a really deep bench,” Conklin said. “We always have fresh legs so we’re able to work our hardest for the full 80 minutes and do whatever we have to do to keep [our opponent] off the ball.”
