An impressive and easy win ended with a major concern for Archbishop Molloy.
Star striker Kyra Meli went up for a header near the far sideline in the closing minutes of a 4-0 win over rival Mary Louis at Alley Pond Park Wednesday. She got a push from behind and went head first into a Molloy defender, then to the grass and didn’t get up.
Meli, the team’s leading scorer, was dazed when her coaches and teammates reached her. She had no voice and could barely move. Stanners girls soccer coach Lauren Spota said they were using hand signals to communicate with her.
“She was fine one second,” senior midfielder Kathryn Edwards said. …“She can barely even walk right now. That’s scary.”
Meli, a senior, spent the remaining minutes of the CHSAA Nassau/Suffolk game in a chair at midfield with blurry vision and a headache. She improved slightly before being taken in an ambulance to Long Island Jewish Hospital. Meli suffered a minor concussion and is likely out for the remainder of the season, according to Spota.
“Head injuries are always the scariest things to witness,” Spota said. “Just that feeling of knowing that they have no idea what is going on and watching the panic in their eyes. It was very hard to be able to sit there and watch.”
Meli scored the game’s first goal on a breakaway in the 13th minute to give Molloy a 1-0 halftime lead. The Stanners (3-6-4) exploded early in the second half to put the game well out of reach. Edwards scored on a blast from the top of the box two minutes into the second half and then fed Katherine Lulo for a goal in the 49th minute to make it 3-0. Natalie Rivera capped the scoring off a Victoria Antonino corner kick as the Stanners’ speed was too much for a less-than-full-strength Hilltoppers (1-9-1) defense.
“Their speed is insane,” Spota said of Meli and Antonino. … “It’s how quickly they can get that pick up and take off and you will never expect them to start that quickly.”
Mary Louis, which is in danger of missing the Class A playoffs, played without defender Deirdre Munday, who was sick, and defender Ellen Peiser was less than 100 percent. They didn’t get much offensively outside of Kathleen Cole’s shot to the near post that was saved by Molloy goalkeeper Chelsea Wynne in the first half. Anna McGovern had a corner kick that Wynne, who made four saves for her first shutout of the season, also stopped in the second half. The two teams tied 2-2 in their first meeting earlier this season.
“Our weak point is our offense” Mary Louis coach Nicole Madtes said. “We struggle with that to begin with.”
Molloy, which now has to be concerned with the health of Meli, is playing its best soccer of the season over the last few games heading into next week’s playoffs. It nearly came away with a decision against Sacred Heart, the defending CHSAA state champion, but lost 3-2 on Oct 14. Spota, who said they missed a penalty kick opportunity, called it the team’s turning point. Molloy is battling St. Mary’s for second place in the ‘A’ division
“We have been taking more, passing better, we have been scoring,” Edwards said. “We are starting to pick it up right in time for the playoffs”