Updated on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 at 12:25 p.m.
Last year, Horace Greeley defeated Lakeland 2-0 in the Section 1 Class B semifinals, becoming the first team since Putnam Valley in 2008, to defeat the Hornets in the sectionals.
Putnam Valley beat the Hornets 3-2 that season in the Section 1 Class B title game.
Greeley’s win ended the Hornets’ streak of 15 straight official Section 1 titles (16 if you include the COVID-regional title in 2020).
The above made for one of the more interesting rematches in recent times, when Lakeland hosted Greeley on Thursday afternoon. Led by a hat trick from junior Gabby Goldstein, the Hornets avenged that loss with a 5-0 victory over the Quakers.
“We’ve been training really hard in practice, we’ve been working hard, we knew what we needed to do in this game, we really just wanted it,” Goldstein said. “We came into today, we were really hyped, we were ready to go for the game, we knew we were going to give it our all, we were ready for this game.”
The Hornets’ readiness for this game was evident early on as Goldstein, off an assist from Allie Waters, gave Lakeland a 1-0 lead 4 minutes, 46 seconds into the contest.
Goldstein called the goal “great” and added that “all our teamwork, the passing to getting that goal, was really key.”
She credited her midfielders and defense “getting that ball up to me” and said that “it felt great to get that goal and put us on the board early.”
Goldstein continued her scoring prowess with an unassisted goal that landed in the bottom right corner of the goal with 3:33 remaining in the first quarter, extending the Hornets’ advantage to 2-0.
“Putting us up by two, getting us up there early, it really boosted us for the rest of the game,” Goldstein said. “I thought we started and finished with a lot of energy. Again, it was just being scrappy in front of the goalie. We needed this game. The mids, the passes were great getting us the goal.”
Goldstein completed her hat trick when this time she found the bottom left corner of the goal, off an assist from Gianna Santini, 2:59 into the third quarter, increasing Lakeland’s advantage to 3-0.
“At halftime, we were really just talking about how we had to keep our energy up, like the game wasn’t over, and we had a whole half left, we had to keep it going,” Goldstein said. “That third goal was great, it felt great to score, and great to celebrate with my team.”
Lakeland coach Sharon Sarsen beamed about Goldstein’s performance.
“She’s great in front of the goal, that’s where she does her best work, so I was really happy with her getting a hat trick today,” Sarsen said.
Team-wise, the Hornets dominated possession of the ball and outshot the Quakers 12-1, with Olivia O’Connor preserving the shutout with a save.
“We did a good job of changing the point of attack,” Sarsen said. “I thought our midfield and our screens, really helped defend in the middle of the field. They are talented, they had a couple of kids out with injuries but I thought we did, except for the second quarter, where I felt we wasted a lot of corners, I thought we played pretty well.”
A third-quarter goal by Riley Waters, assisted by Santini and a fourth-quarter tally by Santini, assisted by Aditi Parambath, finished the scoring.
Lakeland (9-0) started the week with a 9-0 triumph at Arlington Tuesday afternoon, highlighted by Parambath, a junior, reaching 100 career points with an assist.
“It meant so much to reach 100,” Parambath said. “It’s been my goal ever since I started playing for the varsity team in eighth grade. It was a really big achievement and I cannot wait for more things to come in my career.”
Gianna Santini (4G, 2A), Nikki Santini (3G), Allie Waters (2G, 1A), Meaghan Heyde (3A), and Riley Waters (1A) also produced offensively for the Hornets with O’Connor and Ali Castro sharing the shutout in goal.
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