Liv Marksberry's two goals make Ward Melville a winner
Ward Melville’s Ella Prado, left center, Liv Marksberry, center, and Bri Ospitale, right, celebrate after the team scores against Northport. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
Two Goliaths of Suffolk I faced off on Tuesday in a field hockey showdown between Northport and Ward Melville at Northport.
Liv Marksberry scored twice and Lily Tamburo and Hadley Torre each added a goal as the Patriots (11-1) came out on top of a 4-2 bout.
Ward Melville got started early, earning three consecutive penalty corners just five minutes into the game. Though the opportunities built some momentum, Northport goalkeeper Emma Treacher managed to keep the Patriots off the board.
After nearly 30 minutes of scoreless play, Ward Melville earned a penalty corner that would end the drought. Torre dodged through the middle of the circle and sent the ball into the left corner of the cage, putting the Patriots up 1-0 with 4:19 remaining in the half.
Northport's Julianna Tietjen had an opportunity to tie the score with a minute remaining in the first half, but Ward Melville’s defensive line regained possession and ran out the clock before Tietjen could find any help in the circle.
“Staying composed is the most important part of playing defense,” Ward Melville goalkeeper Alex Cotlet said. “Making sure that we communicate and work as a unit is what gets the ball back up the field.”
Ward Melville began the second half aggressively, earning five consecutive penalty corners only three minutes into play. They earned 21 throughout the game.
“Corners are something we’ve been focusing on all season,” coach Shannon Sioss said. “The goal is to get them the best they can be for playoffs. We had a lot of them today and executed on a good percentage, so we’ll take that as a success.”
Ward Melville applied the pressure, but it was Northport who struck next. Tietjen broke away from her defender to bury a shot in the right corner, tying the score as the third quarter closed.
The momentum that Ward Melville had been fostering all game finally exploded in the final quarter. Off a pass from Torre, Marksberry rocketed a goal from the top of the circle less than two minutes into play, and the Patriots didn’t stop there.
Four minutes later, Marksberry found room to finish again out of a scrum on the right side of the cage. Then, with less than five minutes remaining, Tamburo added another goal to extend Ward Melville’s lead to 4-1.
Northport’s Megan Heffernan managed to score in the final 30 seconds of play, but it wouldn’t be enough as Northport's record dropped to 9-3.
“Scoring is something we’ve struggled with this season,” Torre said. “Knowing that we can score a lot of goals and knowing we have girls coming off the bench that can come in and score is really important for our confidence, especially heading into playoffs.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
