Cold Spring Harbor girls lacrosse beats familiar Wantagh in Nassau I
Ryan Reynolds takes a shot on goal for Cold Spring Harbor girls in Nassau I victory over familiar foe Wantagh on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Less than two months ago, many Cold Spring Harbor and Wantagh student-athletes who were on a lacrosse field together on Thursday were cheering on one another in a girls basketball state championship. The schedule lined up so that when Cold Spring Harbor was completing its comeback to win a state title, Wantagh was waiting and supporting the Seahawks as the following game with the two playing in different classifications.
All this knowing that a few weeks later, many of the players would go head-to-head on a lacrosse field with both programs filled with multisport athletes. That moment came on Thursday when Cold Spring Harbor defeated host Wantagh, 13-7, in Nassau Conference I girls lacrosse play.
“This is definitely only an on-field rivalry,” senior midfielder Ryan Reynolds said. “We love Wantagh and supporting them at basketball (states). And if we see them anywhere else, we are rooting for them, they are rooting for us. It’s a nice competition.”
But it was all business on Thursday as Reynolds had three goals and two assists to lead Cold Spring Harbor (13-2, 9-2). Sienna Koke added three goals, Kelly Callaghan and Maggie Spehr each had two goals and an assist and Olivia Mulada added two goals.
The Seahawks defense took over in the second half as Cold Spring Harbor shut out Wantagh for the final 24 minutes. Maya Soskin had 12 saves, but she credited the defense in front of her for the team’s defensive second-half dominance.
“We were all connecting and when we connect like that, it feels so good because we know that we can be unstoppable,” Soskin said. “I’m always so confident in my defense and when they are locked in like that, they can accomplish anything.”
Wantagh (7-9, 6-5) opened a 5-3 lead after the first quarter before Cold Spring Harbor’s strong finish, which featured the Seahawks outscoring Wantagh 7-0 in the second half. Wantagh led 7-6 at halftime before CSH took a 9-7 lead into the fourth quarter off two goals from Koke and one from Reynolds.
“We knew (Wantagh was) going to come out strong,” coach Danielle Castellane said. “There are a lot of competitors on this field, I’m just glad with how we responded in the second half. I think holding any power conference team scoreless in the second half is huge.”
Riley Forthofer had a goal and four assists and Juliana Cerasi, Isabella Sandoval and Sabrina Asadurian each had two goals for Wantagh.
Cold Spring Harbor, the defending state Class D champions, hope to repeat in about a month and also match the basketball state championship victory. Wantagh, a Class C girls lacrosse team, and Cold Spring Harbor could find themselves in a similar situation in the spring as the winter — something neither side would object to.
“No matter what, we’re from Long Island so when we go upstate, we are rooting for each other,” Soskin said. “When we’re off the field, there’s no hard feelings. It’s always just fun to have good competition on the field.”
