Last year Yorktown beat Lakeland for the League II-G title in the regular-season finale and also in a classic Section 1 Class AA quarterfinal contest, where the Huskers tied the score late in regulation and won it in overtime, with both games being played at Yorktown.
Once again the two local rivals played at Yorktown on Thursday afternoon, this time with a different result. Lakeland senior captain Margaret Keating scored the only goal of the game, unassisted, with 24:30 remaining in the game, when she found the bottom right corner of the goal, giving Lakeland an exhilarating 1-0 victory.
“It was a ricochet, I had just intercepted it, then I just took it all the way to the goal,” Keating said. “It felt amazing. It was my first goal of the season.”
Keating felt it was Lakeland’s hard work and determination that won the game for the Hornets.
“We talked to the team a lot about having high energy and high effort,” Keating said.
The victory was extra special after what happened last season at Yorktown.
“All my four years of high school, we’ve never [beat] Yorktown so it felt good,” Keating said. “I was getting flashbacks from last year, in the last five minutes of the game. It was really intense.”
Lakeland junior captain Amelia Calisi concurred.
“Last year was painful because losing in overtime is so hard and then, like Margaret said, we lost to them every single time my whole varsity career,” Calisi said. “It’s a crosstown rivalry in every sport and it (the win) means a lot, especially for our seniors.”
Calisi made the save of the game late in it when, off an indirect free kick, she leaped high in the air and knocked the ball over the crossbar to preserve the shutout and victory.
“First thought: just find the ball once it gets released,” said Calisi, who made five saves. “It was my mistake for that free kick to even let up, so it was really on me to keep our team in the game.”
Silvana Milizia tallied eight saves for Yorktown, which wore pink jerseys to start Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“We are going to wear those pink jerseys all month,” said Yorktown coach Ryan Langkafel. “This way we can raise awareness, raise some money for some foundation. These girls set this up themselves, they really feel strongly about it. They are helping people that are in need. It’s an awesome way to give back to the community.”
Both teams also played home games on Sept. 29, with Yorktown (1-6) winning its first game of the season, 4-1 against Carmel.
“We’ve been working really hard, we knew the first five games would be against very strong teams,” Langkafel said. “We were competing in those games, learning with a new group, learning from our mistakes, and I thought it propelled us to play and succeed against Carmel.”
Milizia (3 saves), Anna Walling (1G, 2A), Ella Simone (1A), and first varsity goals from Adhra Bajrami, Mila Pierson, and Heilee Leonardo ignited the Huskers to the win.
Lakeland (3-4-2) tied sister school Walter Panas 2-2, with Payton Sauer knotting the game with 40 seconds remaining for Lakeland and teammate Gianna Pace scoring her 50th career goal. In goal, Calisi recorded one save.
The game came on the Hornets’ senior night, with Pace, Emma Garretto, Keating, Mackenzie Latorre, and Valeria Montenegro honored before it.
Lakeland and Yorktown each play next at 2 p.m. Saturday, with the Hornets hosting Carmel and the Huskers traveling to Mahopac.
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