The Seaford Lady Vikings have had their best season in six years. They’ve won their conference for the first time since 2016, going undefeated in conference and finishing 12-3 overall in the regular season. In addition to winning their conference they just won their opening playoff game against Division 16-10. Two instrumental players that have led Seaford to such a successful regular season are senior attacker Alex Leggio and junior midfielder Amanda Ettinger. The duo has had an unbelievable season with Leggio finishing number one in Nassau County in assists during the regular season. Leggio currently has 51 assists on the season with a total of 96 points. Ettinger has 37 goals along with 16 assists for 53 points as part of a prolific offensive unit.
After losing a lot of close games last season, this year they made sure to flip the script and turn those close defeats into victories. Ettinger shared that because most of the players from last years team returned this year, they all knew they wanted to come out on the winning side this time around.
“Since we had almost the same team as last year everyone knew what they wanted to do.”
Leggio says that the team came into the season with confidence and it translated into the team winning games. She also shared how big it was for the school and the community to see them win their first conference title since 2016.
“It’s definitely a big thing for our school, because we’re so small that when we do have those wins the whole community is really happy about it.”
Leggio’s ability to distribute to her teammates has played a big factor in Seaford’s success this year. Being a facilitator is what she loves to and gives a lot of credit to the teammates she has around her.
“I love a good assist. It’s my favorite part of being on attack, and I’m really lucky to have people that can catch my passes and finish them because without that my assist couldn’t be possible.”
Both Leggio and Ettinger are multi sport athletes, and in addition to being teammates on the lacrosse field, they also play soccer together in the fall which helps build chemistry between the two of them by the time lacrosse season comes around. During the winter Leggio plays basketball, showing she’s not just a floor general on the lacrosse field. The speed that Ettinger displays on the lacrosse field in the spring is showcased during the winter by running track.
As the season has progressed for Seaford, Ettinger says that the offense has gotten better and it’s a product of them moving the ball.
“On the offensive side from last year to this year, we learned that moving the ball really works for us, and more feeding from Alex than dodging works for us as a team.”
Leggio attributes a lot of the credit for their success to their defense, explaining that they move as a unit and that she loves watching them from her end of the field. This season the Vikings defense has allowed just 4.6 goals per game on the season.
When the season and the school year come to a close, Leggio will be heading to nearby Adelphi University where she will be in their nursing program as well as continue her lacrosse career. She described her recruiting process as stressful but also fun, and found exactly what she was looking for at Adelphi.
Ettinger still has one more year suiting up for the Vikings, and at the conclusion of her high school career she will be heading up to Binghamton University to play for the Bearcats. Although there were some other schools that she was in talks with, Ettinger was communication with Binghamton from the very beginning of her recruiting process and realized that this was the perfect fit for her.
As the playoff push continues the Leggio, Ettinger, and the Vikings will be on taking on North Shore on this Friday in the quarter finals of the Nassau Class C Playoffs, where they will look to earn a spot in the semifinals. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
