Seven local high school lacrosse players have been selected to play in the U.S. Women’s Lacrosse National Tournament, which will be held this Memorial Day weekend at Stony Brook University.
They will be on three teams representing the Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation, made up of girls in grades 9 to 11. The three teams, which will play at different levels, will compete against 60 teams from across the country.
Players on the First Team are defensemen Olivia Dooley, Caroline Mondiello and Casey Roszko from Manhasset, attack player Arden Tierney from Port Washington and goalie Gabrielle Kiewe from Roslyn.
Attack player Paige Accurso from Manhasset was selected to play on the Second Team, and midfielder Maggie Arnold, also from Manhasset, was selected to play on the Third Team.
Despite many girls playing with private clubs as well, the selected players were nominated by high school coaches from the metropolitan area to participate in day-long trials that were held at Cold Spring Harbor High School by the Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation in April. The players were selected from 176 candidates, including girls from both Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The First Team is the most selective, with the Second Team being slightly less so and the Third Team being the least selective, said Rosalia Gioia, a representative of the Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation.
“We have teams competing from all across the country,” said Gioia. “We expect the tournament to be pretty tough this year with 60 teams competing from across the country.”
Mondiello, a Manhasset junior who is verbally committed to Stanford University, said she was initially intimidated. “Coming into a tryout at that level, I was unsure of what to expect. I would definitely say that being selected to play on the First Team was an honor, especially since the talent at the tryouts was very strong,” she said.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend to play with such amazing players and to really work together against some great competition,” said Roszko, a Manhasset junior defenseman who is verbally committed to Drexel University.
Dooley, a defenseman and verbal commit to the University of Southern California, credits her being selected to the training of her coach, Danielle Gallagher. “She deserves a lot of the credit for teaching us how to play as one unit, and has prepared us to be ready for any challenge … I believe we will be very prepared for the tournament,” she said.
The First Team will play its first game on Saturday against the New Jersey First Team at 8 a.m. The Second Team will play on Saturday at 9 a.m. against the Connecticut Second Team. The Third Team is scheduled to play at 9 a.m. against the Central Pennsylvania Third Team, according to the U.S. Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament website.
Tierney, a junior who is a University of Richmond commit and is from Port Washington, was nominated by Sacred Heart Academy Head Coach and Athletic Director Morgan O’Connor. Aside from being selected to the First Team, Tierney led Sacred Heart to a championship and was named MVP of the championship game and co-player of the year.
Kiewe, a freshman goalie served as the backbone of defense, said Portledge Head Coach Samantha Losco. “Gabby’s intensity and will to win was contagious. Despite being a freshman, she was a team leader on defense …I look forward to seeing Gabby develop into one of the best goalies on Long Island,” she said.
Teams have one practice prior to the tournament. Matt Maloney, head coach of the First Team, said that he appreciates this aspect of nationals. “The cool thing about this tournament is there is very limited practice or game planning, so we all get to see the girls work on their instincts and experience.”
Gioia recommends that players who are not committed to a college yet should try their best to stand out. “There will absolutely be college recruitment scouts there at the tournament. They’ll be there with pads, pencils, cameras, you name it,” she said.
“I think it’s an honor that they go out to these tryout situations and that the kids get to represent their regional teams and to play with kids from all over Long Island,” said Gallagher.
