Thursday, October 1, 2026
South Side’s field hockey team, in its inaugural varsity season, is on a heater. The program was at the JV level last year and has made quite the impression with a rise to varsity.
“The girls are doing a great job adapting to the higher pace game, the girls honestly put a lot of work in over the summer to keep up with the varsity level,” coach Angelica Gargiulo said.
The program was born when a group of girls approached the school board ahead of the 2023 school year about starting a field hockey team, according to Gargiulo. With enough signatures and student interest, by May of 2024, the motion was approved.
The Cyclones are off to an incredible debut varsity campaign with a 10-2 record, with several statement wins to their name: the first win of the season was a 5-0 thumping over Oyster Bay on Sept 5, and a six-game win streak which saw four consecutive shutouts by star goalie Tara Cody.
In the win over Oyster Bay, Hailey Spillane, Charlotte Thomson, Kelsey Cavanaugh and Madalyn Napolitano shone as early indicators of who would dazzle as the season continued. Spillane, a returner from last year, splashed early by scoring 20 seconds into that game against Oyster Bay.
Spillane has 7 goals so far, Austen Finegan has 4, and Thomson and Napolitano have 2 each.
What keeps the Cyclones flowing is their connection, which Gargiulo marvels at. “Even though this is only their second season together, the girls played like a team with years of experience,” she said. “When the final whistle blew, they were so excited, rushing to celebrate with our goalie who earned a shutout.”
As a coach, I was incredibly proud, it was the perfect way to open the season and showed how much hard work they’ve put in,” Gargiulo said. “The biggest takeaway was how connected and confident they looked as a team right from the start.”
Little did the team know, that it would be the first of several shutouts.
Cody, a senior and a lacrosse goalie in nature, put up four shutouts between Sept. 18 and 27. While Cody deserves lots of credit, with her 31 saves, she doesn’t get all the cake.
The offense, in the meantime, keeps a lead foot on the gas. In that same four-game streak, the Cyclones combined for 17 goals. Skye Korten leads the way with 4, Charly Testerman and Hailey Spillane had a hat trick each, and over half a dozen players had solo shots find the back of the net. Anybody is a threat at any given moment.
In a statement 2-1 win over East Meadow Oct. 8, the girls once again demonstrated their willingness to word hard and work together. Korten and Testerman had the goals and Cody made 7 saves.
“The last time we faced them [East Meadow], it was a tough overtime game that ended in a shootout loss, so the team was determined to come back stronger,” Gargiulo said. “They worked hard in practice and really showed up, especially with it being Senior Night. Everyone played with hustle and heart, and they earned this win.”
