Three Lady Cyclones Earn All-State Awards

The South Side Lady Cyclones soccer team concluded its magical playoff run this season with its 16th New York State title after winning a handful of nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thrillers en route to its championship.

The team's leaders on offense and defense, as well as the mastermind behind their championship run, were recently awarded with some of the highest honors divied out in the high school sports world.

Head Coach Shannon McEntee was named New York State Girls Soccer Coach of the Year, while offensive sharpshooter Christina Klaum earned 1st Team All State and All Long Island honors, and defensive stalworth Caitlin Wallace was named to the 2nd Team All State.

"I was completely blown away," McEntee said, who led the Lady Cyclones to a 15-2-4 record. "I am so honored. It's incredible."

This is only McEntee's second year as head coach, and last year's season ended with a disappointing loss to Garden City in the Nassau County finals. But the loss never swayed McEntee from implementing her tough, defensive-minded strategies and it proved to be the winning recipe in this year's title run. "Last year was a transition," she said. "It was new coaches, a new style. This year we focused on mastering the new style. We were tweaking it rather than reconstructing."

McEntee said she can't give enough credit to her team, who used last year's loss in the county's as motivation for this season. "They were so driven and resilient," she said. "They refused to lose."

First Team All State Selection sophomore Christina Klaum, who led the Lady Cyclones with 20 goals this season, said she was surprised by the selection, but  was something she targeted from the beginning of this year. "I really wanted this," she said. "I've worked hard all season. I wanted to lead this team to a championship."

Klaum, who scored 10 goals in the playoffs, said McEntee has a certain way of revving the team up before games. "Mac had a great year," she said of her coach. "She gives us great speeches and really drives our team. She did a great job."

Senior Caitlin Wallace, who was a main cog and anchor in South Side's stingy defense, said she was shocked she was named to the 2nd Team All State and never expected the honor. Wallace said she put an emphasis on building endurance and stamina in her offseason workouts, and it proved to be the right decision.

"This year, I really practiced on my own and did more running," she said. "I just wanted to stay in better shape and be active the whole game. I worked really hard this summer to stay in shape."