Massapequa girls lacrosse's Savanna Appleton has four goals, seven assists to help beat Syosset
Savanna Appleton of Massapequa is defended by Ryan Kaplan of Syosset during a Nassau Conference I girls lacrosse game in Syosset on Thursday, May 7, 2026. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
There’s a certain art to the assist in girls lacrosse. It’s not only the pass that leads to a goal — it’s a product of a complex, working offense. It’s something that all 12 players on the field play a role in.
On Thursday, it was the Massapequa girls team’s bread and butter. The team defeated Syosset, 19-9, in a Nassau I matchup on the road. All but three of Massapequa’s goals came with the help of a friend.
“We preach a lot about making sure everybody is working together as a team,” coach Megan Protano said. “We never wanted to be a one person offense. We have so many threats on attack which works to our benefit because everyone wants to get involved.”
Attack Savanna Appleton was Massapequa’s biggest threat on Thursday, dishing out seven assists all before scoring four goals of her own to rack up a season-high 11 points. With her impressive 6-0 height, Appleton’s vision can pick apart a defense with ease.
She said many of those connections come from team chemistry and field awareness.
“Every time I or any of my teammates dodge, we always have our heads up,” Appleton said. “We all have the IQ to know that if we get doubled, there’s always someone open. We have amazing cutters who always have their sticks up, so we all trust each other to catch and finish.”
Massapequa led 7-4 at halftime before pulling away in the following two quarters. Massapequa outscored Syosset 8-2 in the fourth quarter alone. Three of those fourth-quarter goals were assisted by Grace Hoffman, who totaled two goals and five assists.
Hoffman said the second half surge can be attributed to slowing the game down and refocusing on teamwork.
“We had to connect better,” Hoffman said. “We had a lot of missed opportunities in the first half between dropping the ball or hitting the goalie, so we just had to remind ourselves to catch first, throw a fake and finish.”
Julie Shaughnessy tallied five goals, including a behind-the-back, and two assists to lead Syosset (9-7, 5-6) and Roma Puthussery made 11 saves.
With only one regular season game remaining for Massapequa (12-3, 9-3), Protano said the team will continue to work on its defense and shooting percentage.
“They had a lot of threats on attack as well and I thought we played solid defense,” Protano said. “We’ll keep working on slowing down, staying tighter on our cutters and just fine tuning a few things in this last week.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
