East Meadow’s field hockey team continues to be among the most successful in Nassau, going 9-2 thus far with its most recent win coming against Great Neck South Oct. 10.
The Jets shut out the Rebels 5-0, with goals from senior right inner forward Crystal Cruz, senior mid Alish Turcious-Patterson, senior left wing forward Zoe Orlando and a pair of goals and assists from senior right wing forward Gianna Ventura. Junior mid Gabriella Shepard notched two assists, as well.
All-County Adelphi commit and second-year captain Ventura leads Nassau in goals with 19 and ranks top 10 in assists with 7.
“In her varsity career, which is super rare, she has surpassed the 50-goal mark,” East Meadow coach Courtney Castle said. “She’s super hard-working. She’s dedicated, she plays not only with us, but she has played on the indoor team and is always looking to improve and succeed on her off time. As a captain, as a leader, she mentors the underclassmen. I’ve been coaching for 20-plus years and she’s one of the best.”
High praise from Castle on her star in Ventura, as the third-year starter has notched three hat-tricks already: Sept. 5 against New Hyde Park, Sept. 27 against Sewanhaka, and Oct. 6 against Long Beach. Even with Ventura’s dominance, the rest of the team contributes, as well.
Orlando, who ranks top 15 in the county in goals with 7, is another scoring threat alongside Ventura.
“She’s exceptionally fast,” Castle said. “Her stick skills have improved tremendously. Her and Anna Barbieri have practiced things specifically on the cross, on the back pass for the left side of the field that they carry over into gameplay.”
Orlando recorded three assists and one goal against Sewanhaka, making her assist count for this game a season-high.
Though the Jets have as good a record as anyone could ask for, they’re 2-2 on the year against New Hyde Park (10-2) and South Side (10-2). Those two teams are the only ones to credit East Meadow with a loss and they’re the team ahead of the Jets in the conference, but all four games have been decided by two goals or fewer.
Against New Hyde Park on Sept. 5, East Meadow won 3-1 with all three goals coming from none other than Ventura. On Sept. 25, New Hyde Park blanked the Jets, 1-0.
On Sept. 15, Ventura scored in the shootout to kick off league play with a win over South Side, but fell to the Cyclones 2-1 Oct. 8.
“Unfortunately, we just fell short [against South Side],” Castle said. “They have a never-give-up attitude. For instance, we played to the final few seconds of the game because it takes five seconds to score a goal from the midline with two passes. I like telling them, ‘Leave it all out on the field.’ They have the scoring ability, they really stepped up defensively.”
It’s a heavy senior-led program that Castle trots out on game day, with 13 of her 20 being in the Class of 2026. Two seniors, defender Maya Provitera and goalie Eva Kyriakidis, offer veteran leadership on the back end.