YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. — Yorktown may be facing one of its toughest matchups of the season this weekend, but if recent results are any indication, the Huskers are as ready as they can be after riding solid defense and the dynamic scoring of Lily Diaz and Serena Zimmerman to a pair of home wins this week.
The first came on Oct. 7, a 2-0 Husker triumph against North Salem.
Zimmerman put the Huskers up 1-0, off an assist from Anna Burns.
“It always feels good to score, especially when it helps the team pull ahead,” Zimmerman said. “It was a lucky shot in the second quarter. My teammates kept it going for the win.”
Diaz, courtesy of an assist from Ava Ryan, doubled Yorktown’s advantage to 2-0 in the third quarter.
“After the ball got down to our offensive end, Ava Ryan worked hard to escape being trapped by the defense, she sent the ball to me, and I was able to rearrange myself toward the goal and take the shot,” Diaz said. “Having our strong defense made it that much easier for midfielders, like myself, to stay up and be there to take the shot. It felt great to grow the team’s lead, especially in a closer game.”
Diaz said that in hard-fought games like the one against North Salem, the Huskers rely heavily on the combined energy of their teammates.
“It’s really important that we focus on lifting each other up through communication and just supporting one another in general,” Diaz said. “Yesterday, we made sure to do that and it allowed us to have a stronger second half. We tend to feed off each other, which can be super helpful on those high energy days.”
A day later, Diaz (3G, 1A) and Zimmerman (2G, 1A) led Yorktown in its 6-0 win versus Putnam Valley.
“Today went well for both Serena and myself, because everyone was involved in this game,” Diaz said. “Different players contributed to both offense and defense. That set the both of us up for success. Our success also stems from knowing we have some tough teams to face in our remaining games, so we make sure to push ourselves so we’re even more prepared.”
Diaz’s performance versus Putnam Valley was typical according to Zimmerman.
“ Lily always plays great,” Zimmerman said.
Yorktown (9-2) went into the halftime break ahead 2-0, then broke it open with 3 unanswered third-quarter goals to make it 5-0.
“Increasing the score was definitely important to us,” Diaz said. “After playing a close game previously against North Salem, we knew we had to come out stronger today and prove our talent.”
Scoring those third-quarter goals, in order, were Annie Cunneen, Zimmerman, and Diaz.
“We have a great team that works hard and never gives up, we kept the pressure on defense and we were able to make good passes that resulted in three unanswered goals,” Zimmerman said. “It was a team effort.”
Yorktown’s next game will be at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 at defending Class A state champion Mamaroneck.
“We’re looking forward to the game, it’s going to be a tough one,” Zimmerman said.
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