It didn’t take long for the Lakeland field hockey team to establish itself against Section 2’s Burnt Hills in Monday’s Class B regional final at Schuylerville.
The Hornets’ first goal came two minutes into their 7-1 victory and the team advanced to face Section 3’s Maine-Endwell Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Cicero-North Syracuse in the state semifinals.
“We came out very strong,” Lakeland’s Gianna Bensaia said. “We made sure to keep the ball moving. We had great passing combinations and we played together.”
Bensaia, Kristen Conroy and Dana Bozek had two goals apiece. Steph Scala also scored.
Bensaia added two assists and Gab Celentano had one.
Lakeland goalie Mairead Hourihan made two saves and Burnt Hills’ Brittany Ryan stopped 19 shots.
“The way the defense has played has reflected the whole season,” Hourihan said. “The defense is the rock.”
Lakeland defeated Rye in the Section 1 final and Rondout Valley in the regional semifinals.
“(Maine-Endwell) is a very good program, they are definitely going to be tough,” Lakeland coach Sharon Sarsen said. “They almost knocked off Garden City (last year) and they are not young anymore.”
Greenwich 2, Bronxville 0: In a Class C regional final game at Schuylerville, the Broncos trailed by two goals at the half and were unable to mount a comeback.
“We had so much fun together and we’ve accomplished so much,” Bronxville senior Hillary Hamann said. “We worked so hard and whether we won or lost today, the whole season was irreplaceable. We didn’t have to go further, we did it as a family.”
Greenwich goalie Sam Whitehouse made 14 saves and Bronxville’s Jill McDermott had two stops.
“(Greenwich) had really good defense off of our shots. They were able to clear the ball quicker than we could get the rebounds,” Bronxville’s Brooke Bonfiglio said. “They were able to use the right side a lot more than we used ours and they had a lot of strong players with a lot of stick skills.”
After a successful regular-season campaign, Bronxville defeated Pawling in the Section 1 final before edging Pine Plains in the regional semifinals.
“I had the best season ever and it was a really successful team,” Bonfiglio said. “I don’t have any regrets, I think it was the best.”
Niskayuna 2, Suffern 0: In a Class A regional final at Schuylerville, the Mounties run came to an end. Last week, Suffern became the first Rockland field hockey team to capture a Section 1 title.
“For our team to have gone so far and make history for not only Suffern but Rockland was a great way to end it,” Suffern senior Sarah Adler said. “It doesn’t make it any less sad, though. I wish I could have another game in the Suffern jersey.”
Suffern allowed one goal in each half and Mounties goalie Kaila Cahoon made 11 saves.
“It was a great ride and we pulled together as a team,” Cahoon said. “We had so much potential and we fulfilled it.”
Suffern upset Mamaroneck in the Section 1 final and defeated Kingston in the regional semifinals.
“Just to see a team come together the way that this team came together has been a dream,” Suffern coach Bernadette Gannon said. “It’s been a whirlwind. Normally you have a break in the games but with the weather, we’ve been playing intense games every other day.”