Ward Melville tops Commack to win Suffolk Class AA girls soccer crown

Aliyah Leonard was in the right place at the right time.

Ward Melville could have been content with entering halftime with the score tied after a closely played first half. But the Patriots continued to push on the attack – not letting a single second go to waste.

And with less than a minute remaining in the opening half, Leonard fielded a ball from Maddy Costello from 10 yards out and scored on an open net for the game’s first goal as No. 1 Ward Melville defeated No. 2 Commack, 2-1, in the Suffolk girls soccer Class AA final at Shoreham-Wading River High School Tuesday evening.

Ward Melville (14-0-3) advances to play Massapequa (16-1-2) in the Long Island Class AA championship/Southeast regional final at Berner Middle School Saturday at 4 p.m. Commack finishes 14-4-1 as Ward Melville won its first county title since April 2021.

Costello created the scoring opportunity when she continued fighting for a ball that seemed destined to end up with Commack near the goal line. But after a Cougars miscommunication, Costello squeezed between the Commack defense to play the ball to the middle of the field. Leonard happened to be waiting there for the goal with 32 seconds left in the first half.

“I saw both of them go for it and I said, ‘This is my opportunity, it’s going to be a fumble’ and once I saw the ball loose, I just went for it,” Costello said. “I just feel like you always have to leave your heart out there and I didn’t want to let this team down and think I didn’t give my 110%. I wanted to leave everything on the field in that half.”

“The only thing going through my mind was, ‘Please don’t miss,” said Leonard, an eighth-grader. “I didn’t want to let the team down. I wanted this moment to happen so bad.”

Emilia Retzlaff stole the ball from a Commack defender and quickly sent a cross to Adriana Victoriano in front of the goal to give Ward Melville a 2-0 lead with 28:33 left in the second half.

“I honestly didn’t realize how big it was at first but after the (shot) wen in, we both screamed and had a big celebration,” Retzlaff said. “It feels so awesome to get this title.”

 “I knew I had to get to the middle of the field because I saw the open space,” Victoriano said. “Once I got that pass, I knew I had to bury it.”

Victoria Lamdendola lined a free kick from 47 yards out, which grazed off the head of Haley Loscalzo for a goal as Commack cut Ward Melville’s lead to 2-1 with 20:46 left in the second half.

It was Ward Melville’s first county title since April 2021 but this one had a much different feel than the previous one. When the Patriots won that title, it came in a shortened season played in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The April final finished in a 1-1 tie with Sachem East and both teams were deemed co-champions as no Long Island championship followed.

But this fall, the Patriots were the sole winners and continue their season with a chance to play for a state title. 

Elyse Munoz wasn’t challenged often, but she made a key save following a header in front of the goal off a long throw-in with 3:30 left in the second half for Ward Melville. She finished with two saves.

“This one they earned 100%,” coach John Diehl said. “I’m proud of what they did.”

“This means the world to us,” Costello said. “We don’t want this season to end.”