The strong leg of Kayla Hubler was the difference Saturday.
Hubler set up for a 45-yard free kick and sent the ball 10 yards in front of the net. A running Anna Pennecke was able to get just enough of her body on the ball to squeeze it past the right goal post and score the winner with 7:06 remaining in the second half as No. 2 South Side defeated No. 3 Garden City, 2-1, in a girls soccer Nassau Class A semifinal at Cold Spring Harbor High School.
“She’s been working on them all season,” coach Judi Croutier said. “And the fact that they were able to execute it was nice to see.”
South Side, winners of last season’s county title, advances to play No. 5 Manhasset (9-5-3) in the Nassau Class A final at Cold Spring Harbor High School on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Nora Basile scored the game’s first goal for South Side (11-3-2) on a penalty kick with 25:42 remaining in the first half following a foul in the 18-yard box.
Renee Gollisz headed in a corner kick from Maya Costa to tie the score at 1 for Garden City (8-6-4).
But South Side didn’t put its head down after the tying goal.
“They’ve been working hard all year and playoffs are their own beast,” Croutier said. “The girls have been working and getting ready and the fact that they’ve been able to work together as a team shows the work they’ve been able to put in.”
