Catalina Suau's first-half goal lifts Garden City to another Nassau Class B field hockey championship

Catalina Suau didn’t play her freshman season. She watched Garden City win the Nassau field hockey title from the sidelines.

Yet, one year later, Suau started the same game, and her goal crowned the Trojans Nassau champs.

“Today, I was really nervous,” Suau said. “Because, as you know, we’ve lost to Manhasset twice this past season . . . There’s so many of us that are good, if we just work together. So, I just had a really good feeling inside that we were going to win.”

Suau’s goal led No. 2 Garden City to a 1-0 win over No. 1 Manhasset in the Nassau Class B championship at Berner Middle School in Massapequa on Thursday. Manhasset finished 14-2.

Garden City (12-3) peppered Manhasset with corners from the opening quarter on. The Trojans tallied six in the first half, and the sixth try was the breaking point for Manhasset’s defense.

Katherine O’Hanlon crossed the ball to the center where Maureen Arendt fired a shot on net. Suau tapped it in from in front to put the Trojans up 1-0 with 1:17 remaining in the first half.

“I would feel like I would calm down more, but I was just antsy to get another,” Suau said. “It just hyped me up so much that it just made me want to win even more, and I already wanted to so much.”

Coach Lauren Lavelle said the team practices corners every day.

“ corners are the most important part of the game,” Lavelle said.

Garden City will play Eastport-South Manor in the Long Island Class B championship game 2 p.m. Sunday at Northport High School.