Traditional powers Lakeland and Mamaroneck lay groundwork for field hockey playoff runs

It doesn't seem to matter who's returning, who has graduated. Year in, year out, the Lakeland and Mamaroneck field hockey teams are always among Section 1's best.

As preseason practices launched this week, it was clear that hasn't changed.

Here are snapshots of the two teams, which are expected to vie for their respective class championships this season.

Lakeland

Head coach: Sharon Sarsen (42nd season)

Last year: 18-2-1

Returning starters: Nine

Mission statement: Some wish for it. We work for it.

Names to know: Bella Basulto, Sr., MF/D; Emma Numme, Sr., MF/D; Gabby Santini, Jr., F/MF; Emily Yazzetti, Sr., F

Scouting report: With only a few exceptions, Lakeland was a team of puppies last year and yet national and state Hall of Fame coach Sharon Sarsen guided her team to its 14th straight Section 1 crown. That title was far from a foregone conclusion when the season began and the championship might have marked Sarsen's finest year coaching. That's saying a lot since the former John Jay-Cross River star has piloted Lakeland to 13 state titles. This season, there are multiple reasons to be optimistic. Start with the fact Lakeland returns 16 players, including the bulk of its starters. Among them are multiple all-stars. Future collegiate players Basulto and Santini both gained all-state recognition in 2022 and Numme and Yazzetti were both all-section. Sarsen frowns on players looking past league and section titles. But Lakeland's depth and maturity over this point last year give fans reason to believe the team has a good shot to advance beyond state regionals, where Lakeland's season ended last year. But standing between it and a possible state Class B Final 4 appearance are a few very talented Section 1 teams that would like to see the Hornets' remarkable section championship end. Namely, they are Horace Greeley, Rye and John Jay-Cross River, Those teams had a combined record of 46-8-3 in 2022. Although all their games with them were close, Lakeland accounted for four of those losses and one tie (knotting Rye in the regular season before beating it in the Class B playoff final). The Hornets' 2023 schedule is challenging. After Lakeland opens at home August 31 against Putnam Valley, it will waste no time jumping into the deep end. of the pool. It will play 2022 Class A runner-up Mamaroneck (which beat Lakeland 2-1 last year for the Hornets' only loss to a Section 1 team) on Labor Day. That same week, Lakeland will face Rye and the following week it will take on Horace Greeley, which it edged only 1-0 last year. The Hornets will also participate in the MAX High School Invitational in Philadelphia September 23-24, playing top teams from Michigan and Pennsylvania. All this adds up to the fact it will be hard for Lakeland to do what not long ago was its norm and go undefeated. But with so many players back from a section championship team — the vast majority having played club field hockey for Sarsen's Hudson Valley squad since then — Lakeland will enter the season as the Class B favorite in Section 1.

Quotation marks: Sarsen said Lakeland "started from scratch" last year. With the 2023 team much more seasoned, Monday's initial practice was a "breath of fresh air," she said.

"Just being a year older and being in the system has worked in our favor. We don't have to reinforce the little things, so we can work (now) on major things," Sarsen said.

Basulto answered "very" when asked if she's optimistic about the season. Describing her team as extremely close, the fifth-year varsity player said, "We make sure we have each other's backs no matter what."

"I think playing these strong teams at the beginning is really going to help us. ... It'll be pretty exciting to see who comes out on top," Basulto said.

Of the opening of practices, she added, "I definitely saw things (that were good). I think we're going to shine this year."

"It's kind of like finishing each other's sentences," Santini, who's beginning her fourth year on varsity, said of players' tight bond.

"Small and young last year," her team should only be better this year, she said, explaining there's talent all over the field.

"I think both (our offense and defense) will be really good. We're all pretty equal. We all play everywhere," said Santini, who MAX Field Hockey has ranked as the top Class of 2025 player in New York.

"I like the energy and we're all very close friends, which makes it fun," Numme, who's beginning her third year on varsity, said. "I think this year is a lot better. We have a base down. Not it's just improvement, improvement. We have to keep working and keep it going."

Yazzetti, who thinks summer club play with Sarsen's Hudson Valley squad improved players individually and improved team play, pointed to the group's cohesiveness and resolve for last year's showing.

"As a team, we were determined to win and to get far. We wanted to prove we could still do it. We were picking each other up when there were mistakes and we kept our cool. No one was getting frustrated," she said.

Of this year, Yazzetti added," I think it's going to be great. We already have that connection, that bond."

2022 field hockey: 22 Section 1 players named to all-state team, Golden Dozen squad announced

Mamaroneck

Coach: Trish Miller (second season)

Last year: 15-3

Returning starters: Four

Mission statement: Never back down. Never give up.

Names to know: Audrey Adorno, Sr., F; Catherine D'Arcy, Jr., MF; Bella LaPorta, Sr., MF/D; Juliette Patricot, Sr., D; Ruby Pearson, Jr., MF/D

Scouting report: Miller starts her sophomore season at the Tiger helm but is hardly a newcomer, having served as assistant coach for 23 years. Last year, her squad finished a hair out of the money, falling in overtime to longtime rival Scarsdale in the Section 1 Class A championship game. With players galore (more than 60 are trying out for varsity and junior varsity this season), four starters and some part-time starters back, Mamaroneck is hardly in a real "rebuild." But it's young overall and still developing after graduating three all-state players. Last year, it was 7-0 when it fell 1-0 to Scarsdale during the regular season, then went 4-0 before falling 1-0 to Greeley. Its very good season ended in a 3-2 overtime loss to Scarsdale in that playoff final. This year, like Lakeland, Mamaroneck's schedule is front-loaded with quality teams, so players will be in growing-up-fast mode. The Tigers open September 2 against one of the top teams in Class B, John Jay-Cross River, then, two days later, play Class B power Lakeland, which last year won its 14th straight section title after dropping an out-of-class game during the regular season to Mamaroneck 2-1. Miller describes herself as "more of a defensive coach." That was clear last year when 14 of the Tigers' 15 wins were by shutout. She said she's now focusing her efforts during practice on boosting Mamaroneck's offensive attack. Who ends up as the team's leading scorer is a bit of an unknown, in part because positions aren't fully set and multiple players have demonstrated they're capable of playing multiple positions. But what is pretty much guaranteed is that come the post-season, Mamaroneck will be in the mix as one of the Class A favorites.

Quotation marks: "This team gets along very well and does play well together. They've been working hard in the offseason together," Miller said.

D'Arcy noted that was via captains-led, three-day-a-week practices and summer league play.

"I really like how close-knit and motivated we are," said D'Arcy, a 2022 all-section player, who's beginning her third year on varsity.

She described losing to Scarsdale twice last year as "really hard."

While also less than happy about that, Patricot, also a third-year varsity player, said her team would use last year's mistakes and losses as an "opportunity for growth."

"We're working on our speed. We're trying to build back up," she said.

Adorno, who said players are "close like sisters," thinks her team will do just that and maybe more.

"I think we have great potential to do amazing things this season," Adorno said. ... "One thing about us, every year we look up at past players and always want to strive to be as good or better."

LaPorta, a three-year varsity member, who won't play in college, described the season as being "kind of a last opportunity to do something with each other as a team."

"Of course, the ultimate ending would be a state championship but I'd be content with a section championship, as well," LaPorta said.

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Field hockey: Lakeland, Mamaroneck get to work seeking section titles