High school central

A similar - though condensed - version of this will run in tomorrow's paper, but for the folks who are here in Cortland now or on the way and won't get the paper, you can get a preview of the preview now.

NOTE: Laura and I will be covering all the games and providing updates, stats, pictures and commentary during each. If you can't make it to Cortland - heck, even if you're there - follow...

Garden City is back in the county final. Why? Because it’s late May and it’s about that time.

Competing for championships has long been part of this program’s annual routine, and the Trojans earned themselves another trip to the title game on Wednesday, beating Long Beach, 14-7, in the Nassau Class B girls lacrosse semifinals.

Haley O’Hanlon had three goals and four assists to lead top-seeded...

History.

St. John the Baptist’s recent reputation as that “pretty good, but not on that level” team – it’s history. And they put an end to that on Tuesday by making history.

The second-seeded Cougars beat rival Sacred Heart, 14-9, in the CHSAA Class AA girls lacrosse semifinals, earning their first ever trip to the league title game.

“There was a sense of relief and accomplishment...

I was wrong.

I’ll say it again: I, Laura Albanese, being of sound mind and disposing memory and not acting under duress or undue influence, admit that I was wrong.

Some context: Earlier this week, while making my (so far, not-terrible!) predictions, I decided that Northport would pull the upset over third-seeded Ward Melville in a hotly contested Class A semifinal. And clearly,...

For the record, I’m really hesitant about doing this but…meh…why shouldn’t Suffolk get the same good stuff that Nassau does?

So here’s the deal (and I’m basically going to rip this off wholesale from what Stephen said): These picks are thoroughly objective. Just because I picked against your team doesn’t mean (a) I don’t like y’all (I’m having a blast this season, and all the girls are great)...

Before we start, I’ll slap this disclaimer in: Thought and objectivity went into these predictions, so if I picked against your team, it doesn’t mean that I dislike them or have any less respect for them. This is my third season covering lacrosse and I can say with complete honesty that there hasn’t been a team or person I’ve met whom I dislike or would root against in any way. (I’ve had this conversation...

Who knew Beyonce even had a song called “So Amazing”? I didn’t, until about five minutes ago when I went searching for song titles that had any possible correlation to Players of the Week. Then boom! It was a Luther Vandross tribute sung with Stevie Wonder. I think it works here.

(Tangent: Learned something in the process. I recognized Beyonce’s opening lines in the song from “True Love” by...

Of the 45 teams in Suffolk, only 16 are still playing today. Yeah…it’s the playoffs, and it’s going to be a dogfight all the way up to Cortland. But enough about that stuff. We’re kicking off this Girls Who Run This World with a hat-tip to all the girls who busted their butts all season but don't get to play another day. And who better to start with than… Courtney Murphy, Floyd – The girl deserves...

Class A Semifinals

No. 5 Syosset vs. No. 1 Farmingdale, 4 p.m. Monday at Adelphi University Syosset advanced with a 13-4 win over Hicksville. Connor Bird scored four goals and Kim Presuto made 16 saves. The Braves had lost in last year's quarterfinals. The Dalers, seven-time defending Nassau champs, rolled to a 20-3 win over MacArthur on Wednesday. Amanda Turturro and Johnna Leone each scored...

In this player profile, we bring you Garden City goalie Taylor Carpentier. In her first year as a starter, the junior has proved more than capable with 116 saves, helping her team to a 15-1 record.

Carpentier has successfully succeeded some stellar lacrosse predecessors at her position. Kelly Weis held the position for four years and was a two-time All-American, and she was followed last year...