Garden City derailed in state final

CICERO, N.Y. -- Lakeland again.

For the third straight season, Garden City had its state tournament run brick-walled by the field hockey powerhouse.

All-American Shannon Scavelli had two goals and an assist and All-American Emma Bozek scored the other as Lakeland upended the Trojans, 3-1, in the Class B state final Sunday at Cicero-North Syracuse.

"There's some sadness because this is the last game for a lot of us," Alexandra Bruno, one of the Trojans' 11 seniors, said. "But look how far we got. It's a great team we lost to, and there's nothing to be ashamed of."

Certainly not of a season that brought a 17th straight county championship and a seventh consecutive Long Island title.

Garden City (17-1-1) won states in 2008, preceding Lakeland's reign. They lost to the Hornets in overtime in 2009 and fell, 2-0, to them in last year's final.

"We gave it our all," senior Tara Mahon said.

Scavelli scored 4:22 in and Bozek made it 2-0 with 21:50 left in the first half. Garden City gained momentum in the second half and Charlotte Castronovo scored off a pass from Bruno with 17:49 remaining, but Scavelli struck again with 11:14 to go.

Laura Fanning made three saves for the Trojans and Krista Servedio had five for Lakeland (21-1). "You always get surprised when you're thinking, 'How am I going to replace so and so?' and then the girls step up," Trojans coach Diane Chapman said of her team reloading.

There are two silver linings for Garden City. (1) Lakeland graduates seven, including its dynamic duo. (2) The emergence of several returning players bodes well.

"Our goal is to beat [Lakeland] and I have no doubt we can do it," junior Victoria Piscopo said.