Syosset girls soccer’s Siena Cummo nets late goal to draw with MacArthur

When Siena Cummo scored with four minutes left in the second half, her immediate reaction wasn’t to find a teammate to hug. It was to get the ball out of the net as quickly as possible and return to play.

Cummo had just scored the tying goal for Syosset, but she wasn’t satisfied with accepting a draw with time remaining. Once the final whistle blew, Cummo at least felt more content with a tie rather than a defeat after playing MacArthur to a 3-3 draw at home in Nassau Conference AAA/AA-I girls soccer play on Tuesday.

“It was good, but we wanted to go for one more, so we didn’t celebrate it too much,” Cummo said. “But we were happy to at least tie the game. It’s a better result than a loss.”

Cummo scored the final goal off a scramble in the box following a corner kick from Victoria Ranieri. One minute earlier, Syosset goalkeeper Tate Sofier made a crucial 1-on-1 save to maintain a one-score deficit, allowing the opportunity for Cummo’s tying goal.

“I really just made sure I came out for the ball, but you never know what’s going to happen,” Sofier said. “There’s a lot going through your mind, so you kind of hope for the best and you have to go out and be aggressive. That’s the best thing you can do, especially on a breakaway.”

Syosset (0-0-2) struck first when Mia Barrie finished a cross from Jadyn Stadler with 29:38 left in the first half. Less than a minute later, MacArthur (1-1-1, 0-1-1) tied the score when Gina Iannuzzi headed in a free kick from Alexa Coppola

Ranieri finished a cross from Leah Calderone with 2:37 left in the first half to give Syosset a 2-1 lead

Iannuzzi and Coppola connected again for MacArthur’s tying goal, with Iannuzzi charging into the box and one-timing a kick off a corner from Coppola with 28:21 left in the second half. Ten minutes later, Alyssa Schmutzler had a breakaway opportunity and, despite Sofier making the initial save, Schmutzler stuck with the play and scored off the rebound to give MacArthur a 3-2 lead with 18:14 left. The freshman knew she had to finish the goal.

“I just knew this had to go in,” Schmutzler said. “It’s really a lot of stress. But I was as determined as I think I’ve ever been. And after seeing [that the goalkeeper] pushed it away and the other defender fell to the floor, I just tried to jump over and hit it again. It’s definitely a confidence booster.”