Going in net is no stretch for Sophie Marino.
The star of Long Beach’s gymnastics squad is doing a spectacular split this winter — simultaneously playing goalie for the 12-win Marines boys varsity hockey team that’s on fire in 2026.
“Gymnastics taught me strength, endurance, and being fearless,” Marino told The Post.
“When you get up on the beam and have to do a backflip, you can’t be scared … that translates here. When someone shoots a puck, I don’t get scared. I’m like, ‘You know what? This will be fun, I’ll make a save.’ ”
The dual-sport senior, whose brother, Matt, protected the pipes at Long Beach in 2023 before graduating, noticed the Marines had no backup on the roster during a December 2024 game.
“Jokingly, he was like, ‘Why don’t you try?’ I was like, ‘Haha, very funny.’ Then I thought about it, and I was like, ‘You know what? It looks like a lot of fun,’ ” she said.
“I got my brother’s old gear, and I just tried to get on the ice as much as possible,” added the 17-year-old goaltender.
Ice in her veins
She could only “get from point A to point B” on skates at first, but took a crash course in early 2025 to be ready for her one-time chance to play before graduating.
“I can’t believe where she’s at now,” head coach Rob Carson said.
Matt also put his little sis through goalie boot camp so she would be battle-tested when it came time to take the crease as a varsity player — the team’s only female member.
“He was nonstop messaging me, ‘Sophie’s playing. Sophie’s ready. I’ve been shooting on her. She’s ready. She’s getting good,’ ” Carson said.
“She’s the hardest worker during practice — and the kids feed off that. They see that she didn’t have that upbringing like most of them did, where they were skating when they’re 5 years old.”
Marino, a diehard Islanders fan who now studies goalie Ilya Sorokin (when not focused on her heartthrob, Matthew Schaefer), brings more than just a fierce gymnast mentality to the hockey team.
“The flexibility and the endurance came easily to me,” said Marino, who added that Matt helped with reflex and hand-eye skills.
She took his old No. 32 out of love and saw action early in the team’s campaign.
A blossoming butterfly
Carson first called Marino in to play — with a comfortable lead — in the third period against Bethpage for trial by fire on the ice.
Although slapshots don’t make her flinch, the pressure certainly did at first.
“I was terrified,” said Marino, who was sweating with nerves on the frozen surface.
Starting goaltender Justin Mele could tell the tense moment could be cut with a skate blade, so he made a kind gesture to help Marino warm up to take her mind off the moment.
“I calmed down, and I went out there, and I just played. One kid had a really good shot, and I saved it. So it was really cool,” she said.
Her next call to the net wasn’t like the 13-0 blowout win for the Marines, though.
Marino needed to start against Half Hollow Hills when Mele was injured.
She was once again “terrified,” but the entire Marines squad stepped up again to boost the new player’s confidence.
“When we first got on the ice, they usually don’t come over, but all the guys did, and they huddled up with me, which is really awesome,” she recalled.
“After the first shot, I was just like, ‘You know what? It’s OK, it’ll be fine.’ ”
Marino stood the test — and stopped an “awesome” breakaway in the third while tied — as Long Beach brought home a thrilling, last-minute 6-5 victory, which Mele said “she really did her best” in.
“I was actually very proud of her,” added the starter.
The 12-2-1 bunch clinched a top playoff spot with one regular-season game remaining, while Marino, who does vault, bars, beam, and floor events, earned a spot in February’s gymnastics state qualifiers as well.
Balance might as well be her middle name.
“There was one time when I had a gymnastics meet, and then I left right away and went straight to the hockey game — and we won both, which is really cool,” she said.
“If you told me I was going to be on the boys hockey team … started, and we would have won — while doing varsity gymnastics at the same time, I’d say ‘No way, you’re lying.’ ”