Tears are a funny thing.

As I watched them roll down the cheeks of our seniors, who had given us a scrapbook full of memories over the past four seasons, I felt both sad and happy for the them. I was sad because these girls we all love so much were heartbroken over the end of their season, but I was happy because something had ended for them that was so clearly meaningful. Tears are a sign that you have experienced something something that you will never forget, and the journey they have been on over the last few seasons is something “the tide won’t wash away.”

As I watched Danielle Pappas, Donna Liotine, Michelle Hennessy, Brianna Stiklickas, Kierran Petersen, Brannon Burke, Christine Brathwaite, Emily Andersen, Emily Shultz, and Sarah Sullivan walk off the pitch for the last time, I felt a pang of disappointment that I would never see this group of girls don the blue and white again, but that feeling was quickly replaced by pride in what they had accomplished.

Over the last four seasons these girls have been to 12 championship games and won ten of them. Four Suffolk County Championships, three Long Island Championships, two Regional Championships, and a State Championship. These girls have been the core of the greatest four-year stretch of any team in Stony Brook’s history, so while it’s never easy to stomach defeat, what makes it more palatable are the incredible successes we can now look back on and admire with awe.

Last night Friends Academy simply outplayed us. Their attack was well-balanced and their defense held when we put the pressure on. With 14:56 remaining in the first half, the Quakers netted a goal on a play in which our weak side defense was unable to get back in time. If our girls were dejected they didn’t show it as they continued to scrap on both sides of the ball. Friends plunged a dagger into our hearts on a corner kick that resulted in an own goal and a 2-0 lead with 33:33 left in the match.

What I love about our team is that with their season on the brink they never quit until the final horn. They fought for every ball and kept attacking and, with 6:39 left, Liotine finally came through with a score to the delight of the large Stony Brook delegation on the sidelines. We had a few last gasps in the waning moments but a pair of free kicks were cleared out of the box, allowing the girls in red to celebrate a 2-1 win against us after falling in three straight years.

The heroes of the game were seniors Danielle Pappas, Brianna Stiklickas, and Brannon Burke who left their hearts on the field. It is difficult to describe how sensational Pappas was in goal last night. She proved again and again why she was one of the best keeper’s in the state as she single-handedly kept our season alive. With 34:33 left in the first half, she made a diving save to prevent a goal. With 34:01 remaining in the game she deflected a rocket that went off the crossbar, then two seconds later she popped up to save a point-blank shot. With 25:14 left, she made another diving save, then with 16:07 remaining she came off her line and made a sliding save on a fast break by Friends’ best attacker.

She was sensational, and neither goal was her fault. Burke was a warrior, playing through back spasms that eventually kept her out of the majority of the second half. Stiklickas, who was everywhere in the backfield, filled the void left by Burke and played exceptional soccer until she went down with a knee injury with three minutes left in the game. Our girls can look back on their last game for the Bears knowing they poured themselves out for their team and their school.

After years of playing bridesmaid to Stony Brook's bride, Friends Academy is finally one win away from making the long trip down the aisle to Cortland University...

With a Conference title and Long Island championship crossed off their list of goals, Friends Academy (9-2) hopes to do what Stony Brook did last year: bring a state title back to Long Island.

~ Newsday

---