Sunday, November 1, 2026
One goal allowed.
Thirteen shutouts in 14 matches.
That was the resume defending champion South Side brought to Friday’s Nassau Class AA girls’ soccer final.
But the Cyclones were denied a repeat title.
Garden City’s Sienna Castellano scored a beautiful left-footed goal from just inside the box off a feed from Anna Olcott with 21.8 seconds remaining in the opening half and the Trojans held on for a 1-0 victory to claim their second county crown in three years at Farmingdale State College.
“It was a great season,” South Side coach Judi Croutier said. “The girls worked hard and played for each other. We had one misstep on the field today and they took advantage of it.”
It was Castellano’s 10th goal of the season. The Trojans (11-2-4) advanced to face either West Islip or Northport for the Long Island Class AA title.
“Sienna is just a very crafty player who knows how to find the back of the net,” Garden City coach Scott McAuley said. “We did a nice job getting her the ball in that spot and that’s all it took.”
South Side (13-2) opened the campaign with a 1-0 win over Garden City and compiled winning streaks of seven and six games. The Cyclones’ only regular-season loss came to an Oceanside team that last night captured a third straight Nassau Class AAA title.
“It’s my third season as head coach and the fourth time in a row we played South Side in the county finals,” said McAuley, who’s been with the program’s coaching staff 25 years and is set to retire. “We did a nice job with possession in the first half and we felt it was just a matter of time before we broke through,” he added. “We liked how we were moving the ball and playing so calm. That’s a tough defense to crack.”
South Side goalkeeper Valentina Marquardt was lights-out all season playing behind a stingy defense led by Viv Haley, Natalie Cammalleri, Mae Finora and Mackenzie Dunphy.
“The seniors set the tone for the team,” Croutier said. “We only let up two goals all year. It’s a great accomplishment and when they look back on it they’ll realize it. But you’re always looking for that next win and we just couldn’t get it.”
The Trojans played with more of a defensive focus in the second half, led by Madeleine Patrickakos, Amelia Scianablo, Alison Bennett, Lyla Hessler. Goalkeeper Shannon Walsh made 3 saves.
“As a unit, they really just defend extremely well,” McAuley said. “We knew South Side was going to push hard in the second half and send numbers to attack. We just held on.”
