Year in Review: Top Nine Fall Sports Games of 2010

The Mepham Pirates and Kennedy Cougars both combined for an incredibly successful fall sports season. The Mepham Pirates football team reached the Conference II Final Four, while the Kennedy boys volleyball team collected its third consecutive Nassau County title.

Take a look at which games make the list of Bellmore Patch's Top Nine Fall Sports Games of 2010.

9. The Conference III-B regular season title belonged to the Mepham girls tennis team this season after the girls went undefeated. Led by their impressive doubles teams, the Lady Pirates took out the Plainedge Red Devils back on Oct. 19 to cap off their incredible regular season run.

8. While the Kennedy girls volleyball fell just short in the County finals against Wantagh, they certainly had no trouble getting there. The Lady Cougars swept the Garden City Trojans in three sets on Nov. 8 in the Class A semifinals. Stephanie Bauman led the way with 10 kills.

7. The Kennedy girls soccer team were already on this list for almost pulling off the upset of the century against Massapequa, but how they got to that game is equally as important. The Lady Cougars took out the ninth-seeded Hicksville Comets in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs back on Oct. 29. Freshman Krista Trinidad scored the game-winner with 16 minutes remaining.

6. The Mepham girls soccer team went undefeated in Conference III during the regular season and were impressive throughout the season. But perhaps no game was as big a statement about their dominance as their 7-0 win over the Carey Seahawks on Oct. 25. All-state senior Jill Picinich finished with two goals and an assist in the win.  

5. In some cases, a loss can almost be more valuable than a win, which is why the Kennedy girls soccer team's loss to the Massapequa Chiefs in the Class AA quarterfinals is on this list. The Lady Cougars nearly pulled off a miracle against the 19-0-1 and eventual state-champion Chiefs, but fell by a score of 1-0.

4. Although the fifth-seeded Mepham boys soccer were upset by the 12th-seeded Syosset Braves in the first-round of Class AA playoffs, the Pirates still put up a good fight. After regulation play saw the score deadlocked at 0-0, the two teams went through two scoreless overtimes, only to have the game come down to penalty kicks. The Pirates lost the game 1-0 after losing PKs 2-1, but played arguably their best 110 minutes of soccer all season.

3. The 10th-seeded Kennedy boys soccer team provided some serious Halloween entertainment went they upset the seventh-seeded Calhoun Colts in double overtime in order to advance to the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs. Senior Peter Sherman scored the winner to give the Cougars the 2-1 win.

2. Despite falling short in the Long Island title game to Eastport-South Manor, the Kennedy boys volleyball collected its third straight Nassau County title with a relatively easy sweep of the Floral Park Knights on Nov. 11. Ben Hirschler collected 12 kills and was the tournament MVP.

1. It was a big season for the Mepham football team, and perhaps no game was bigger than when the Pirates shut down the Elmont Spartans offense in the Conference II Quarterfinal on Nov. 6. J.T. Castaldo led the way on defense with a sack, a forced fumble and an interception. He also caught the game-winning touchdown pass from quarterback Nick White.