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Once the seeds were announced for the Section 1 Field Hockey championships, two-time defending New York State Class B titlist Lakeland found itself the No. 2 seed behind Rye. That did not sit well with the Hornets, who wanted to prove they were worthy of the No. 1 seed. We understood that both teams were comparable and it was who came out stronger and played the better game on Nov. 6, 2011, Bozek said. Lakeland came out of halftime and took over immediately, scoring the first of four goals in the opening two minutes as the Hornets defeated the Garnets 4-0 in the Section 1 Class B title game at Arlington High School. This was the third consecutive year Lakeland beat Rye in the final. Lakeland improved to 18-1 and moves into the regional final Saturday at 2 p.m. against Section 9 champion Rondout Valley. The game will be played at the Milton Sports Dome in Milton. The winner earns a berth in the New York State final four Saturday and Sunday Nov. 19 and 20 at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. It was Lakelands third consecutive Section 1 Class B title and fifth championship since 2006 when it also won the New York State Class A crown.
Being a senior, you cant ask for anything more than to finish off with a bang like this, said Emma Bozek, who scored the first goal and also had an assist. Its also amazing. This was Shannon Scavellis fourth sectional title. She was a member of the 2007 team that was a Class A state finalist. It gets better each time, said Scavelli, who assisted on Lakelands second goal. The teams were scoreless at halftime. Rye produced a few quality scoring opportunities, but was thwarted by goalie Krista Servedio. At halftime, Lakeland discussed the adjustments it need to make and went about implementing them. We tend to come out slow in the first half and I think we were trying to get a feel for Rye and what they wanted to do, said Bozek, who will attend North Carolina next year and play field hockey. We felt we just needed to execute better. Lakeland opened the second half with a rush and Bozek executed a finishing move in the circle, crushing a shot in at the 2:13 mark. We needed to get hungrier and scrappier in the circle, Scavelli said. At halftime, we discussed coming out focused and, if we did that, we would finish in the circle. Ryes two best scoring chances came at the nine-minute mark as Anne VanWagenen ripped a shot on goal that Emma Brinkman deflected, but Servedio made the save. Brinkman, who was on Servedios pads, tried to slam the rebound by her, but the Lakeland goalie kicked it out. Thirty-two seconds later, Lakeland doubled its lead. Scavelli carried the ball into the circle, paused and, using a reverse sweep, got a shot on goal. Lacey Collins made the initial save, but Abby Murdock picked up the rebound and deposited it home at 9:32. Bozek and Scavelli both said that Servedios saves gave Lakeland added momentum. Krista played phenomenal today, Bozek said. For her to take her role, after not being challenged much this year and excelling at it today, we are all so proud of her. The Hornets are one win away from returning to its fifth state final four since 2006. And they earned this right. Winning and getting out of Section 1 is always the hardest, Scavelli said.
Lakeland 0 4 -- 4 Rye 0 0 -- 0
Goals -- Emma Bozek, Abby Murdock, Rebecca Bard, Gab Celentano. Assists -- Shannon Scavelli, Bozek, Celentano. Saves -- Lk: Krista Servedio 9; R: Lacey Collins 4.
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