Charlotte Laraque gets shutout as No. 3 Mount Sinai wins Suffolk Class A girls soccer final
Mt. Sinai players celebrate after defeating Harborfields during the Suffolk Class A girls soccer championship on Sunday in West Islip. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
Charlotte Laraque already had seven saves under her belt. She saved her best stops for last.
The junior charged out of the net, slid and got a hand up, deflecting a 14-yard shot by Shannon Walsh just outside the right post with 14:30 remaining. Six minutes later, Riley Lockhart uncorked a left-footed missile from 23 yards out toward the upper left corner of the net.
Laraque leapt, grabbed the ball with her outstretched hands and landed on her side with her ninth and final save of No. 3 Mount Sinai’s 2-0 win over top-seeded Harborfields in the Suffolk Class A girls soccer final Sunday at West Islip.
“She’s been fantastic,” said coach Rich Hinnerschietz, in his first year at Mount Sinai after 34 years coaching soccer at Hicksville. “(Assistant coach Dan Garvey) trains her all year and she has gotten better and better. That last save she made in the upper corner, I don’t know if she would’ve made that save in the beginning of the year.”
It’s the Mustangs’ second Suffolk title and first since 2016. Mount Sinai (15-2-1) will face Seaford in the Long Island championship/Southeast sub-regional at 6 p.m. Thursday at Farmingdale State.
When the Mustangs faced Harborfields (16-1-1) in their regular season finale on Oct. 21, the Tornadoes took a 3-0 win.
“I’m in complete shock,” Laraque said. “Before the game even started I was freaking myself out because we lost to them 10 days ago. Once we started playing, I knew we had it. My teammates picked me up and I had my confidence back.”
The Tornadoes earned more scoring opportunities in the final eight minutes, but the Mustangs’ back line swarmed the ball and prevented any shots from reaching Laraque.
“Emily Arita is my rock in the back,” Laraque said. “She would do anything to sacrifice herself for that ball and to get it out. She proved herself today and so did Gabby Surdi. The whole back line is so amazing.”
Harborfields had five shots on goal in the first half compared to zero for the Mustangs. Alexa Cergol wasted no time changing that.
Cergol took a throw-in from Chloe Xerri, swung her left leg from 9 yards and placed the ball in the bottom right corner to take a 1-0 lead 41 seconds into the second half.
“It was a perfect throw right to my feet, all I had to do was place it” Cergol said.
With 23:20 remaining, Cergol sent a pass up the middle to Emma Ramos, who sent a shot into the bottom left corner from 10 yards away for a two-point lead.
Cergol’s sister, Brooke, was on Mount Sinai’s team when the Mustangs defeated Harborfields for the title in 2016.
“It’s so special to me and my family,” said Cergol. “Seeing my sister play has helped me realize how important these moments with my teammates are to me.”
The Mustangs earned overtime wins over No. 6 Islip and No. 2 Sayville to reach Sunday’s final. Now, they will play for the program’s first Long Island crown.
“This last week has been surreal,” Ramos said. “We’ve been working so hard in practice, planning pasta parties and just trying to keep the spirit up. I think it’s been working. Now, we’re really excited to play for a Long Island championship.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
