The Hornets’ long streak at the top of Section 1 came to an end the day before Halloween with a semifinal loss. The defeat came after a strong showing in the quarterfinal. Here’s how things unfolded.
Lakeland 9, Pelham 1
Tuesday, Oct. 28, Lakeland High School
Gianna Santini (4G, 1A), Meaghan Heyde (1G, 5A), Aditi Parambath (1G, 1A), Gabby Goldstein (1G, 1A), Allie Waters (1G), Madison Wohlberg (1G), and Jenna Yazzetti (1 save) propelled No. 2 Lakeland to a 9-1 victory against No. 7 Pelham in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Class B Tournament.
Lakeland won the game by dominating the second and third quarters, outscoring Pelham 7-0 after taking a 1-0 lead at the end of the opening stanza.
“After the first quarter, we made some necessary adjustments, especially on corners, which got our offense going strong, leading us to score more goals in the second and third quarters,” Santini said.
Greeley 2, Lakeland 0
Thursday, Oct. 30, Lakeland High School
No. 3 Horace Greeley defeated Lakeland 2-0 in the semifinals of the tournament, ending the Hornets’ historic streak of Section 1 Class B championships.
Lakeland had won 15 consecutive Class B sectional titles, in addition to winning the Putnam-Northern Westchester Regional Small School Tournament in 2020, which was held in lieu of the sectional tournament because of the pandemic.
The last time Lakeland didn’t win the Section 1 Class B Tournament when it was held was in 2008, when it lost to Putnam Valley 3-2 on Nov. 1 of that year in the tournament’s title game.
In that stretch, Lakeland also won nine straight state Class B titles from 2009-2017, in addition to winning another state Class B crown in 2019.
Greeley’s Phoebe Warshaw tallied a goal off a penalty corner 57 seconds into the game to put the Quakers up 1-0 before teammate Nicole Weyne doubled the visitors’ advantage to 2-0 in the third quarter for the game’s scoring.
Yazzetti tallied five saves in goal for the Hornets.
It was the third year in a row the two teams met in the postseason, with Lakeland beating Greeley in two Section 1 Class B title games at Lakeland, winning 1-0 in 2023 and 2-1 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods in 2024.
The two teams also met during the regular season at Greeley, playing to a 0-0 tie on Sept. 15.
John Jay-CR 2, Yorktown 1
Tuesday, Oct. 28, John Jay-Cross River High School
Lily Diaz (1G) and Sam Conboy (4 saves) produced for the Huskers in their 2-1 loss to John Jay-Cross River in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Class B Tournament.
Lakeland 3, Roosevelt 0
Wednesday, Oct. 29, Lakeland High School
No. 1 Lakeland swept No. 16 Roosevelt 3-0 (25-13, 25-5, 25-9) in the opening round of the Section 1 Class A Tournament, led by Kelly Mallon (7 digs, 15 kills, 4 aces), Sofia Cruz (11 kills, 9 assists), Caelyn Faison (5 kills), Lynae Petrosino (19 assists), Ava Hoff (3 kills), and Taryn Bruno (6 digs).
Mallon recorded her 1,000th-career kill in the second set, which was set up by her sister, Amelia. Earlier this season, Mallon also recorded her 1,000th-career dig, becoming the first Hornet to accomplish that feat.
“I’m so blessed to have hit these two huge milestones this year,” said Mallon, a junior. “I couldn’t have done it without all of my coaches and teammates constantly pushing me to be my best. Having Amelia set me up was the most meaningful part about it. Amelia is my built-in best friend, so getting to share that moment with her was definitely special.”
Lakeland 3, Nanuet 0
Saturday, Nov. 1, Lakeland High School
After a pre-match ceremony honoring Mallon for her 1,000th-career kill against Roosevelt, Lakeland won 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-23) against No. 8 Nanuet in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Mallon (14 digs, 11 kills), Cruz (15 kills), Petrosino (27 assists), Faison (6 kills, 2 blocks), and Mia Aquart (4 kills, 5 blocks) produced for the Hornets against the Rockland County squad.
Yorktown 3, Poughkeepsie 0
Wednesday, Oct. 29, Yorktown High School
No. 3 Yorktown won its first-round Section 1 Class AA match 3-0 (25-10, 25-3, 25-10) against No. 14 Poughkeepsie, with Kailey Alexander (14 kills, 6 blocks, 1 assist), Nina Fasce (12 assists, 1 dig), Mia Riordan (11 assists, 3 aces, 1 dig), Natalia Lyon (5 kills, 2 digs), Olivia Brackett (5 kills, 2 blocks), Kaitlyn Riordan (4 aces, 1 dig, 1 kill), and Haley Allen (5 digs, 2 aces) helping the Huskers grab the win.
Yorktown 3, Yonkers 1
Saturday, Nov. 1, Yorktown High School
Yorktown was victorious against No. 6 Yonkers 3-1 (25-16, 25-11, 23-25, 25-10) in its quarterfinal contest.
Lyon (8 digs, 16 kills, 2 aces, 1 assist), Kaitlyn Riordan (13 digs, 1 ace), Mia Riordan (27 assists, 7 aces, 2 digs, 1 kill), Fasce (16 assists, 1 ace, 6 digs), Allen (16 digs, 4 aces, 1 assist), Emma McCoy (5 digs, 12 kills, 3 blocks), and Alexander (11 kills, 5 blocks) did the damage for the Huskers.
Senior captain Mia Riordan said that it meant a lot for the seniors to win their final game on their home court.
“It definitely took a lot of time and practice to be able to make it to where we are now,” Mia Riordan said.
Lakeland 1, Fox Lane 0 (2OT)
Monday, Oct. 27, Fox Lane High School
Lakeland’s Luke Gomes scored with 13:52 remaining in the second overtime, assisted by Nick Ahmataj, to give the Hornets a thrilling 1-0 win against Fox Lane in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Class AA Tournament.
“The team stuck it out for the whole 80 minutes and (almost) another 20 on top of that,” Gomes said. “In the huddle before overtime, coach (Tim) Hourahan told us to envision the moment of us winning. On a play we drew up from the beginning of the season, the ball found its way to me at the back post and I was in the right place at the right time. It’s a moment I will never forget. Full credit to the team and our coaching staff for believing in us and keeping us motivated. It’s a great moment that this program will never forget, but the best ones are yet to come.”
Lakeland’s Mason Eynon notched 10 saves to record the shutout.
Harrison 3, Lakeland 0
Wednesday, Oct. 29, Harrison High School
Eynon tallied seven saves in Lakeland’s 3-0 loss to Harrison, the No. 10-ranked Class AA team in the state, in a semifinal contest.
Harrison 1, Yorktown 0
Monday, Oct. 27, Harrison High School
Yorktown was nipped by Harrison 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Class AA Tournament.
The Huskers applied pressure late in the game, but a shot that looked like it would tie the game instead hit the crossbar with 1:40 left in the contest.
Antonio Spiniello registered seven saves for the Huskers.
Yorktown 3, Somers 0
Monday, Oct. 27, Somers High School
Yorktown ended its regular season with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-22) triumph against rival Somers, led by Justin Sek (9 kills), Jack Brunner (24 assists), and Xavier Guzman (9 kills).
“It felt amazing,” said Brunner on the win. “We worked so hard this whole regular season and we are working even harder for the playoffs.”
Lakeland 3, Wappingers 1
Monday, Oct. 27, Roy C. Ketcham High School
Lakeland defeated Wappingers 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 25-16), led by Kevin Dominic (17 kills), Addison Cuevas (8 kills, 4 blocks), Kenny Bui (10 kills, 2 blocks), Delvin Anthony (18 assists, 3 blocks), and Van Bui (21 assists, 3 aces).
Lakeland 3, Brewster 0
Wednesday, Oct. 29, Lakeland High School
Lakeland won 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-19) against Brewster, paced by Dominic (12 kills), Kenny Bui (9 kills, 3 blocks), Cuevas (7 kills, 2 blocks), Van Bui (19 assists, 2 kills), Anthony (17 assists), and Luke Numme (3 aces).
“The key to winning was not letting any easy balls drop and fighting for every point,” Dominic said.
Arlington 3, Lakeland 1
Thursday, Oct. 30, Arlington High School
Lakeland lost to Arlington 3-1 (14-25, 16-25, 25-22, 12-25), led by Isaac Arias (3 kills, 5 blocks), Logan Tolve (5 kills), and Joseph Kim (5 assists, 1 ace) in its regular-season finale.
Lakeland 50, John Jay-CR 48
Wednesday, Oct. 29, John Jay-Cross River High School
Lakeland used a prolific offensive effort to ignite a 50-48 victory against John Jay-Cross River in a non-playoff game.
Lakeland’s Joe LaPeruta (9/14, 132 yards, 2 TDs; 19 rushes, 115 yards, 2 TDs) said the team’s perseverance is why it was able to come out with the win.
“We were down two touchdowns at one point in the first quarter and we battled back to be up by six going into half,” LaPeruta said. “Our O-line played an amazing game, and our running back Mike Zumatto had four touchdowns and almost 200 yards (19 rushes, 186 yards; 6-yard reception) on the ground. Our offense was firing on all cylinders, and we were able to stay levelheaded the whole game.”
Anthony Ray (6 receptions, 91 yards, 2 TDs), Anthony D’Errico (2 receptions, 34 yards), and Frank Flannery (6-for-6 extra points) also produced offensively for the Hornets, behind a line of right tackle Kyle Ronk, right guard Frank Imbrogno, center Joe Kolesar, left guard Matt Maloney, left tackle Raul Aristy, and tight ends Ben Franco and Louis Murray.
Zumatto (10 tackles, 1 for a loss, 2 sacks), Joe Kolesar (10 tackles, 1 sack), Maloney (10 tackles, 4 for a loss), and Luke Lulanaj (7 tackles) led Lakeland defensively.
Lakeland will finish its season by hosting sister school Walter Panas in a non-playoff game at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here