Paige Selhorn hadn’t played field hockey since sixth grade before this season.
She was a soccer player throughout high school but decided to switch sports for her senior year. That didn’t slow her down when she returned to field hockey.
The senior scored the winning goal in the first overtime to crown Carle Place as the Nassau Class C champions for the 11th straight year on Wednesday.
“My mom went to college to play field hockey,” Selhorn said. “And ever since I was a little girl, I played, but I stopped after sixth grade to stick with soccer. But now I’m back.”
Selhorn’s goal came just 1:11 into the first 10-minute overtime period to lead No. 1 Carle Place (13-4) to a 1-0 win over No. 2 Cold Spring Harbor (6-9) in the championship game at Berner Middle School on Wednesday.
The Frogs knew they had the advantage once overtime started. Selhorn and coach Elissa Frein said the team thrives in 7-on-7 play, greatly benefiting from the open space.
“I think that, like [Selhorn] said, we are such a dominant 7-on-7 team,” Frein said. “I think even in the Garden City game [on Oct. 21], we completely dominated 7-on-7. So, I was confident that we were going to come out here and get it done in the first few minutes.”
Carle Place earned its sixth corner of the game within the first minute of overtime. Luna Coronel inserted the ball to Emi Coronel, who shot a laser on net. Isabella Cunha crossed the rebound into the middle to Selhorn, who nailed the reverse sweep for the win.
“Coach would not like me to do a reverse sweep,” Selhorn said. “But I did it anyway, and it worked.”
“It worked,” Frein said to Selhorn. “So, it’s fine by me.”
Frein, in just her second year, continues the long-standing success of the Carle Place field hockey program.
“To be a coach of such a great group of girls, it’s rewarding,” Frein said. “They make me so happy. Being a coach for the second year and winning a second county title in two…
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