Manhasset girls lacrosse dominates to become Class C state champions

CORTLAND, N.Y. – Total domination.

The Manhasset girls lacrosse left no doubt who the class of Class C was participating in the state championships at SUNY Cortland with a 17-2 victory over Honeoye Fima-Lima in the state Class C final Saturday afternoon.

Manhasset (15-2) had nine different goal scorers to win its first state title since 2018.

“You definitely felt the vibes on the bus and that kind of dictates how they step on the field,” coach Meghan Clarke said. “They were all over the field from the draw controls from Caitlin Barrett to the finishes on the offensive end. We have so many threats.”

Manhasset outscored opponents, 37-12, in the state semifinals and final Friday and Saturday, including 28-3 since the start of the second half of the semifinals.

“It was really cool, we really just dominated,” said Barrett, who had four goals, an assist and nine draw controls Saturday. “I feel like we took our second half from last game and brought it over to this game. We were all excited, so hyped up and I think it just translated onto the field.”

The current Manhasset players remember watching the 2018 varsity team’s run to a state title. That was the expectation they wanted to meet.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” senior defender Despina Giannakopoulos said. “When you are a little girl, you dream about this moment. You look up to those high schoolers and you want to be them and you watch their success. I remember in eighth grade in 2018 when they won the state championship and that was a goal our team always wanted.”

Alexis Morton, who had 24 goals in the team’s last five games, took on more of a facilitator role with two goals and five assists Saturday. For her, it’s not about the individual stat sheet – it’s doing whatever gives Manhasset the best chance to win. On Saturday, it was passing.

“It depends on the game,” Morton said. “I love assisting my teammates and it’s just an awesome feeling. I don’t care about the goals, I don’t care about the assists, I just care about the win. And honestly, everything just fell into place.”

Ashley Newman had three goals, Alexandra Schneider and Annalisa Massaro each had two goals and Shea Panzik added a goal and an assist for Manhasset.  

Manhasset scored 11 goals in the second half after holding a 6-1 advantage at halftime.

“Our kids have just come together at the right time,” Clarke said. “And they deserve it more than anything.”

Clarke also credited the defensive unit, including Christina Petras, Alex Maliagros, Schneider and Giannakopolous for Saturday’s performance. Honeoye Fima-Lima (12-9) only had two shots on goal all game.

“You don’t get any better than that,” Giannakopolous said. “Holding a team to two goals in a state championship, especially a very talented team. So it made our defense go out [strong].”

“We’ve never held a team to two goals,” Petras said. “And I think that just really shows how tight-knit our defense was today. We came, we showed up and we played.”

It was the perfect ending to a tremendous season for Manhasset, which included some redemption along the way. Manhasset lost to Bayport-Blue Point in the Long Island Class C championship last season but won the same matchup to advance to the state semifinals this spring. Manhasset fell to Wantagh during the regular season, only to defeat Wantagh, 19-11, in the Nassau Class C final. Its only other loss came to St. Anthony’s, which won the state CHSAA ‘AA’ championship.

“It feels so amazing,” Barrett said. “Ending the season this way is such a dream come true. I’ve dreamed of winning a state championship my whole entire life and this is just so surreal.”

“It’s amazing,” Morton said. “I literally get chills thinking about it. It’s just the perfect way to end the perfect story.”