Ward Melville girls soccer's undefeated state title run may never be three-peated

There may never be another girls soccer team like Ward Melville on Long Island again.

The Patriots became the first Long Island public school girls soccer team since Massapequa (2013-15) to win three straight state championships following a 1-0 victory over Arlington in the state Class AAA final at SUNY Cortland. However, Ward Melville did so in three straight undefeated seasons, going 56-0-7 over the last three years and setting the Long Island public school record for games without a loss at 63, according to Newsday records.

The focus all season was on securing a third straight state title. Doing so in a 20-0-1 season to keep their undefeated streak going was an added bonus.

“I remember in a huddle this season talking about a three-peat as a question mark,” senior defender Sarah Jablonsky said. “Then we made it an exclamation point.”

But it didn’t happen easily. Each of Ward Melville’s final three victories of the season were one-goal contests as opposed to last year when the Patriots won their final three games by a combined 9-0.

“We wanted this so bad,” Jablonsky said. “We didn’t want to let down the people before us and we also wanted to do it for ourselves and keep building the program. We want everyone to know the Ward Melville name.”

Mission accomplished. No one involved with Long Island, or New York State, girls soccer over the last three years will forget about this Patriots run.

“I thought we had the pieces,” coach John Diehl said. “I always say that. I thought we had the ingredients but you never know what’s going to happen. When you get up [to Cortland], you never know what you are going to face. And getting out of Suffolk County and Long Island was just as tough.”

Kate Ronzoni, a senior goalkeeper and the longest-tenured varsity player in her fifth year, made one of the most important plays of the season when she saved a penalty kick with less than two minutes left in the state final. It preserved the lead provided by Adriana Victoriano, who also scored the winner in the state semifinal, one of her three goals. 

Following her final high school game, Ronzoni reflected on her first varsity moments.

“As an eighth-grader, I was like, ‘Wow, this team is really good,’ ” Ronzoni recalled. “But I never could have imagined being three-time state champions. But after winning it the first time, I knew we could do it again.”

Alessandra Victoriano, a three-year starting senior defender, also remembers realizing she was surrounded by incredible talent her sophomore year.

“The first season, I knew I was coming into a really great team,” Victoriano said. “But then as time went on, I saw the team had a lot of potential and I thought we could do something special.”

Seniors like Jablonsky, Ronzoni, Maddie Costello, Breena Harrigan, Carolyn Rowe and the Victoriano twins have left a legacy that will be difficult to duplicate. But they have faith in the returning players and the program as a whole.

“Obviously, we are leaving all the underclassmen, which makes me sad, but I believe in them,” Jablonsky said. “I think they can come back next year and do it all again. But I’m sad to leave.”