Garden City girls lacrosse team cruises into state final
Garden City's Elizabeth Gaffney, second from right, congratulates teammate Stella Goettelmann, center, after Goettelmann scored a goal during a state Class B girls lacrosse semifinal against Minisink Valley at SUNY Cortland in Cortland, N.Y., Friday. Credit: /Heather Ainsworth
CORTLAND — When you are a lacrosse player at Garden City, talent alone isn’t enough to get you on the field. But whether you’re a starter, role player or someone who rarely plays, everyone has a purpose, and playing their role has the Trojans one victory away from a state title.
Garden City defeated Minisink Valley, 21-6, in the state Class B girls lacrosse semifinals at SUNY Cortland on Friday afternoon. The Trojans dominated from the opening whistle, leading 8-1 after the first quarter and 15-2 at halftime, and all 39 players on the four-plus-hour bus ride from Long Island to Cortland played.
Emerson Goettelmann and Ava Borzilleri are two seniors for the Trojans who coach Dave Ettinger said would start for the majority of teams on Long Island. But at Garden City, their main responsibility throughout the spring was pushing the starters throughout the week.
On Friday, both recorded multiple points. Goettelmann scored two goals and Borzilleri had a goal and an assist with extended playing time because of the score.
“This means a lot,” Borzilleri said. “We try so much at practice to prepare the players who play all the time, and now it was our chance to play. No matter if you play or not, everyone’s rooting for whoever is on the field.”
“They are great at practice and they score goals against our defense all the time,” Ettinger said. “Our depth has helped us get to where we’ve gotten to and girls like them being able to give a really, really good look to our so-called starters is really important.”
Garden City (20-2) will face Victor (17-4) in the state Class B final at SUNY Cortland on Saturday at 2 p.m. Garden City is seeking its first state title since 2017. Victor has won the last three state Class B titles.
Garden City had 15 different goal-scorers, with no player scoring more than three goals. Eight Trojans recorded multiple points, with Deanna Prisco (three goals) and Averie Smith (two goals and one assist) leading with three points.
“Everyone works hard all season,” Ettinger said. “So for them to get on the field in Cortland, not just as a teammate but as someone to actually play, it’s a great experience.”
Garden City won 23 of 29 draw controls against Minisink Valley (15-3), including 15 of 18 first-half draws. Arcangela Haffner and Stella Goettelmann, Emerson’s younger sister, also had two goals.
“There’s so much depth on the field,” Borzilleri said. “Everyone is so good and only so many people can play, but there’s so much talent.”
The Trojans are ready for a significantly more challenging matchup on Saturday. Victor defeated Columbia, 17-3, in its semifinal matchup in pursuit of its fourth straight state Class B title.
“We’re going to have to do every aspect of the game well in order to knock them off,” Ettinger said. “They’ve won three in a row, so they know what it is to get to the end and win, and hopefully we can give them a good battle.”
“We’re ready,” Emerson Goettelmann said. “We’re all ready to lock in.”
