Thursday, October 1, 2026
After heartbreaking semifinal playoff defeats in each of the past three seasons including two by one goal, South Side’s girls’ lacrosse team wasn’t satisfied with just reaching the championship stage this spring.
The top-seeded Cyclones made the most of their opportunity and also program history in a driving rainstorm Wednesday night, knocking off defending Nassau Class C champion Wantagh, 14-8, for their first-ever county title at Adelphi University.
“It’s what we’ve all been working towards and dreaming about,” senior Charlotte Rathjen said. “I can’t even put into words how amazing this feels. This means everything to all of us. We came into tonight so prepared and the score showed.”
Sophomore Bobbie Creo exploded for five goals, Rathjen had three goals and two assists, senior Sienna Connolly had three goals and sophomore Skye Korten added a pair for South Side, which knocked off No. 8 Friends Academy (16-4 on May 17) and No. 5 Lynbrook (9-2 on May 21) on the way to its first finals appearance since 2021. This time, the result was different.
“We’ve been chasing this for years and it feels even better than I thought it would,” Cyclones coach Rob Devlin said. “It’s a little surreal and I’m sure it’ll hit me in a day or two. These girls are just unbelievable. They’re a special group and they followed the game plan perfectly. They were aggressive from start to finish and just so sharp. It was without a doubt our best game of the season.”
Seniors Julianna Cerasi (three goals) and Riley Forthofer (two goals, two assists) led the second-seeded Warriors, who scored a combined 41 goals in playoff victories over No. 7 Bethpage and No. 6 Plainedge.
“This loss will light the first and give us the fuel we need for next season,” Wantagh coach Lauren Ruppert said. “This senior group has been such a privilege to coach. I have watched them grow into these smart, resilient athletes and I look forward to watching them during their college careers.”
South Side, which lost 11-10 to Wantagh in last year’s semifinals and 11-10 to North Shore in triple overtime in the 2023 semis, made sure there’d be no fourth quarter or OT drama this time.
Rathjen scored the game’s first two goals but a key early turning point, Devlin said, came after Wantagh answered with a pair from Mia Dankenbrink and Cerasi. The Cyclones responded to lead 3-2 after the opening quarter thanks to Creo.
“It went from 2-0 to 2-2 pretty quick and I thought even though we were confident, getting that next goal was big to keep that confidence going,” Devlin said. “Every time we play Wantagh it’s a close battle. I suspected that would be the case again.”
Korten, junior Ava Curtis and Creo (twice) scored in the second quarter and South Side led 7-4 at halftime.
“We put so much into this, we didn’t want to let it slip away but we knew we still had work to do,” Connolly said. “At halftime we just talked about staying aggressive and winning the third quarter.”
As the rain continued to pour, so did the Cyclones’ offense. Working behind a defense led by junior Lexi Giannone and sophomores Lauren Lozito and Austen Finegan, junior goaltender Tara Cody (7 saves) had a nice view of the action from afar. The lead swelled to 11-5 entering the fourth.
“No matter what the score is, we try our best and feed off each other’s energy,” Cody said.
South Side will face Sayville or Bayport-Blue Point for the Long Island Class C crown Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Adephi.
