Thursday, October 1, 2026
Few girls lacrosse teams came closer to knocking off undefeated Sayville than South Side.
The Cyclones went toe-to-toe with the Suffolk County champions for four quarters last Sunday afternoon, holding a halftime lead and keeping one of Long Island’s most prolific offenses in check before ultimately falling 8-5 in the Class C championship game at Stony Brook University.
While the result denied South Side its first Long Island title, the performance showed how far the program has come. The Cyclones finished the season 12-8, reached the L.I. championship game for the second consecutive year and became just the third team all season to hold the Golden Flashes below 10 goals.
The Cyclones had Sayville uncomfortable at many points in the game. South Side carried a 4-3 lead into halftime after senior Summer Stack scored with 1:18 remaining in the second quarter, capping a defensive effort that frustrated a team that entered the contest averaging well into double figures offensively.
“They’re an excellent team,” South Side coach Rob Deviln said of the Golden Flashers. “You can only hold them off so long. Our defense played awesome, [but] they came out at the half, and they sort of figured out how to find little seams in the zone.”
Even after Sayville surged ahead early in the second half with goals 28 seconds apart in the opening minute, South Side continued to answer. Junior Olivia Mayerhofer scored three goals, including a game-tying tally late in the third quarter, while junior Skye Korten contributed three assists.
Caitlin McNulty had the Cyclones’ other goal and fellow junior Bobbie Creo added two assists.
The game ultimately slipped away in the fourth quarter as Sayville scored twice to create separation, but South Side never lost its belief that a comeback was possible.
“I don’t think any of them ever got deflated,” Devlin said. “Right to the end, they thought that they could pull this out. So, none of that slowed them down, there was no walking, there were no down faces.”
That resilience defined a South Side team that spent much of the spring proving it belonged among Long Island’s best. The Cyclones reached the L.I. championship stage with a dramatic 8-7 victory over Wantagh in the Nassau Class C final, winning on freshman midfielder Juliet Diorio’s goal with just 2.3 seconds remaining.
Against Sayville, South Side also showcased the defensive identity that carried it through the postseason. Senior goalie Tara Cody finished with eight saves, several of them coming at key moments to keep the Cyclones within striking distance against an offense that had overwhelmed most opponents throughout the season.
“They’re amazing,” Devlin said of his defensive corps. “The entire defense did a great job. I can’t harp on how much of a unit this entire team works together, but the defense in particular really just, they trust each other, they love each other, they work so well together, and they work really hard.”
While the loss marked the end of this season, the Cyclones are already looking ahead to 2027.
“They’ve already said they’re doing this next year,” Devlin said. “That was the first thing out of their mouth.”
