The Lakeland Hornets entered this season coming off back-to-back state championships. Determined to win a third straight state title and sixth overall in their illustrious history, Lakeland improved to 3-0 with an 8-0 whitewashing of visiting John Jay-East Fishkill on Monday.
The Hornets used a well-balanced attack where they got contributions from multiple players to garner the victory. Emma Bozek led the way for Lakeland with seven points, on the strength of two goals and three assists.
Bozek, who will be playing at the University of North Carolina next year, was followed closely by six points from Shannon Scavelli, who registered three goals. Scavelli will be playing at the University of Michigan next season.
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Abby Murdock followed with five points (two goals, one assist) with two points each coming from Erin Maurno (one goal), Gabby Celentano (two assists) and Rebecca Bard (two assists).
Bozek said it is important to have the balanced attack the Hornets players displayed against their Dutchess County opponent.
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“One of the most important aspects about our team is that everyone contributes on every given day,” Bozek said. “You can’t always rely on your veterans to get the job done. I think it’s so great to have so many girls contributing on this team.”
Lakeland coach Sharon Sarsen said the girls started out flat, but once they got going, there was no stopping them. She enjoyed seeing her squad display a well-balanced attack.
“Emma and Shannon are always going to be our high scorers but we have to be able to compliment them and we did that today,” Sarsen said.
Murdock scored the game’s first goal with 23:40 remaining in the first half, with the assist coming from Bozek. From there, it was all Hornets as they scored five more goals to take a commanding 6-0 halftime advantage.
“One of the things we focus on going into every game is to score in the first 10 minutes,” Bozek said. “Scoring early and scoring often is our motto.”
What was also a key for Lakeland's victory is the tenacity its offense showed around the goal.
“We made sure that if it didn’t go in the first time, that it went in the second time,” Bozek said.
That strong effort is something that was noticed by Bozek’s coach.
“I feel we were very strong inside our attacking third,” Sarsen said. “We made good decisions and we actually executed pretty well inside the attacking circle. I was happy about that. I feel some of the younger players are understanding our tactics now. They are really helping us out.”
