Lacrosse: Husker girls' season ends against Garden City

SHRUB OAK, N.Y.—Section 1 champion Yorktown played a tough schedule this spring but nothing could prepare it for what it faced under the lights on June 7 at Lakeland High School in the Region 1 Class B Championship Game against Section 8 champion Garden City, the No. 7 squad in the Q-Collar Girls Public School National Rankings.

Yorktown, ranked No. 7 in the state in Class B, was able to hang with the Long Island-based squad for most of the first half, but in the end, the Trojans were just too much to handle, as they pulled away for an 18-5 victory, ending the Huskers’ season.

“I’m really proud of these girls; they fought really hard to be at this point,” said Yorktown coach Heather Raniolo. “They fought every second of this game. We hung with them for a while.”

Garden City, the No. 1-ranked Class B team in the state, scored the first goal of the game three minutes and 35 seconds into it, but Yorktown answered right back 20 seconds later when Sydney Sateriale (2G, 1A, 1 draw control) scored to tie the game at 1-1.

“I was just working with everyone on my team,” Sateriale said. “Everyone worked off each other, we all know what each other is good at. They know I like to drive low, so they give me my space.”

The 39-player Trojan squad then ran off four straight goals, giving them a 5-1 lead with 8:38 to go before halftime. Yorktown’s Sofia Boucher cut that lead to 5-2 when she scored on an eight-meter shot 58 seconds later.

“I practice this 20 times a day,” Boucher said. “Our boys goalie (Hunter Mezzatesta), he’s one of our biggest fans. He will stay after practice with us, and he will just let us rip shots on him for an hour or two. The second I got on the hash, I just imagined it was him and I just ripped it.”

Boucher knew she was going to have to take a quick shot because of the athleticism of the Trojans. 

“This team is good,” Boucher said of Garden City. “They are fast, they are athletic. I was not going to get in on them without them trying to check my stick, so I took one snap, and again, I just ripped it.”

Ava Ryan, with an assist from Sateriale, pulled Yorktown to within two of the Trojans, 53 seconds after Boucher’s score. That play was a perfect example of Yorktown’s teamwork.

“Everyone is always looking to assist,” Sateriale said. “Our team is so special. Everyone loves each other. Everyone looks to drive and pass it. Everyone wants to work together.”

During that stretch, Yorktown (12-8) just took advantage of its opportunities.

“We were moving the ball, whatever their defense was giving us, we were taking advantage of it,” Raniolo said. “They gave us a couple of runs where we had space to attack. That team (Garden City) was a very talented squad.”

Unfortunately for the Huskers, Garden City works together as well, and scored the last two goals of the half to go up 7-3 at the end of the second quarter. The Trojans took complete control of the game in the third stanza, where they outscored the Huskers 6-2.

“They did a good job on the draw,” Raniolo said. “It was hard for us. They definitely beat us on the draw.”

Lily Diaz (1G, 3 draw controls), Annie Cunneen (1A, 2 draw controls), Brie Gaccino (1A), Ava Cunneen (2 draw controls), Samantha Conboy (3 saves), and Julia Fitzsimmons (2 saves) all earned their way into the box score for the Huskers. 

“Our girls had a lot to be proud of,” Raniolo said. “There were a lot of doubters along the way. No one thought they would win the section. They played really good lacrosse. They were very unselfish. They valued the ball, they worked together as a team. I was very proud to be their coach.”

Boucher felt likewise.

“Wearing the Husker uniform meant the entire world to me,” said Boucher, a senior captain who played three years on the Huskers’ varsity. “I have watched so many people come before me and wear this uniform. I’ve worn No. 22 after coach Heather and I will continue to wear it in college (Southern Connecticut State University) because of how much she means to me as a coach, and because of how much this program means to me.”