Lakeland High School: Field Hockey Champs - Again

From the Lakeland school district

Sunday night, the sign in the entrance read Nine-Peat State Champions as the Lakeland High School Field Hockey team returned from winning their 9th Straight New York State Class B Championship. The team was greeted by parents and supporters as they were escorted by Yorktown Police and Mohegan Lake Fire Department and Ambulance vehicles last night as they returned to Shrub Oak after defeating Vestal High School 5-0 at Maine-Endwell High School near Binghamton.

The Hornets finished 22-0 this year. They defeated Albany-area's Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake HS on Saturday 3-0 in the state semifinal. Lakeland has not lost to a New York State team since 2008.

After Julianna Cappello scored at 1:23 of the first period with a Caroline Cahill assist to give Lakeland an early lead, the score remained there through the first half as the Lakeland defense shut down all Vestal attempts at getting close, and held them without a shot.

The Hornets came out with renewed determination in the second half as Cappello scored twice within the first two minutes. Kelsey McCrudden added the fourth goal at 20:42 with an assist by Julia Papanicolaou. Caroline Cahill then made it 5-0 at 19:34.

Cappello, McCrudden and Cahill earned All Tournament honors. Papanicolaou earned the Sportsmanship award for the tournament.

Lakeland now has 12 state titles in field hockey.

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