2023 Journal News/lohud Rockland Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year
Michaela Fay
School: Suffern
Position: Midfield
Highlights: Ask longtime Suffern girls lacrosse coach John Callanan to describe All-American midfielder Michaela Fay and he doesn't hesitate. "One of the best players in New York state — top three to five in program history."
Those are quite the statements — all the more so not just because Suffern has long had a very good program that has produced multiple Division I collegiate players, but also because Fay only just completed her sophomore season.
And what a season it was. Fay scored 73 goals and had 22 assists for the Section 1 Class A champions. She was strong in easy wins, close wins and in losses. Consider that in an 8-7 regular-season loss to Long Island's Garden City, Fay had six of Suffern's goals. In a 15-9 loss to Manhassett, she had six goals and an assist. And in Suffern's 10-8 state regional final win over Saratoga Springs, she also had six goals and an assist.
At one game, officials told Callanan that Fay was the fastest player they'd ever seen. All of this adds up to why the 16-year-old, who first played girls lacrosse as a first-grader in Suffern's youth program, is The Journal News/lohud Rockland Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year.
Girls lacrosse goal numbers often seem inflated by the number of free-position goals scored. But Fay, whose mother played lacrosse for Suffern and then for Loyola University, can score from virtually anywhere, anytime, even while being double-teamed, which is not unusual. At 5-4, 120 pounds, she's anything but big. But her shot is huge. She can shoot over the top, sidearm and submarine, all with giddyap on them.
But instead of pointing to her shot and her big offensive numbers, she said the biggest positives of her game are "always giving 100%" and being "selfless," rather than a ball hog. Season highlight moments included seeing her team "come to value the ball" and then celebrate each other during a late April win on Long Island. And then there was the Saratoga game that sent Suffern to the state semifinals and was full of "big moments." Fay, who said her team's strengths is, "we don't underestimate anyone on any any given day," says she wishes she could re-live that Saratoga win.
Her speed and endurance are natural but she credits her coaches for "pushing me to be the best I can be." And that's in more than lacrosse. Fay, who was called up to the varsity lacrosse team midway through her eighth-grade season also plays soccer and basketball for Suffern and earned all-section honors last fall in soccer.
But it's lacrosse that she plans to pursue in college. That, since middle school, "has always been the goal," she said.
Coach of the Year
John Callanan, Suffern: The only Rockland coach to win a Section 1 title this season, he did so not worrying about the backlash his long stall in the Section 1 final might cause. With his top player (Fay) hurt, Callanan had his team play keep-away versus Wappingers and the tactic worked. His team, when healthy, was often dominant. And their season didn't end until the state Class A semfinals. Suffern finished the year 17-4.
The rest of the first team
Olivia Galati
School: Clarkstown South
Year: Senior
Position: Attack
Highlights: An all-section award winner, Galati will play at Stevenson University after a season in which she netted 41 goals, had 18 assists and won the race to get 38 balls off the draw.
Ella Gould
School: Nyack
Position: Attack
Highlights: Gould played a major role in the RedHawks' offense, netting 56 goals, recording 34 assists and winning the race to 69 balls off the draw. She gained all-section honors.
Kristen Javenes
School: North Rockland
Year: Senior
Position: Attack
Highlights: Rebounding strongly from missing her junior season with a torn ACL, Javenes, the all-section player, who’ll suit up next year for SUNY Cortland, had 45 goal and 17 assists and showed her speed, securing 62 balls off the draw.
Olivia Castaldo
School: North Rockland
Year: Senior
Position: Midfield
Highlights: The All-American, who played for the Red Raider varsity starting in eighth grade, Castaldo had 76 goals and 20 assists and beat opponents to 106 balls off the draw. She’ll take the field for Division I Monmouth University next year.
Cassidy Deierlein
School: Albertus Magnus
Year: Senior
Position: Midfielder
Highlights: The all-section player, who’ll play next year for Division I Radford University, Deierlein netted 45 goals, had six assists and beat opponents to 45 balls off the draw.
Kate Gould
School: Nyack
Year: Junior
Position: Midfield
Highlights: The All-American, who’s committed to play at Division I Yale, had 107 points with 55 goals and 52 assists to help lead the RedHawks to a 15-1 regular season. Fast and with good anticipation, Gould also beat opponents to 130 balls off the draw.
Caitlin Ruggiero
School: Suffern
Year: Senior
Position: Midfielder
Highlights: The Academic All-American, who'll take her 4.17 grade point average and lacrosse skills to Division I Stonehill College, was second on the Section 1 Class A champion Mounties with 36 goals. Ruggiero had 17 assists, also second on the team.
Tara McHugh
School: Tappan Zee
Year: Senior
Position: Defenseman
Highlights: A physical presence known for her tenacity, McHugh was key in stopping other teams' offensive drives and was big for Tappan Zee on clears. McHugh will play next year for Division 1 Youngstown State.
Katie Picarello
School: North Rockland
Year: Senior
Position: Defenseman
Highlights: Known for being able to play every position, the SUNY New Paltz commit gained second-team all-section honors. Picarello, a shutdown defender also scored 15 times and recorded 15 assists.
Nevin Sullivan
School: Suffern
Position: Defenseman
Highlights: Shifting from midfield to defense midway through the season, the all-section honoree made Suffern's defense click. The Mounties allowed just 3.7 goals per game after Sullivan changed positions. She was also Suffern's draw specialist. The Mounties won the ball off 61% of the draws she took.
Keira Furey
School: Nyack
Year: Senior
Position: Goalie
Highlights: The All-American, who'll play next year for Division I Fairfield University, surpassed 500 career varsity saves during a season that saw Furey help lead her team to an undefeated regular season in Section 1 play. She allowed just five goals per game this spring.
Jillian Terlizzi
School: Suffern
Year: Junior
Position: Goalie
Highlights: The All-American, who’s committed to play for Division I UConn, rebounded from a collar bone break in February that forced her to miss three early-season games. In a sport in which goals are often plentiful and saves percentage often low, Terlizzi, sometimes facing elite competition, stopped 48.6% of the shots she faced, recording 87 saves on the season. One of her finest games came during the regular season, when she stopped seven of nine shots in an 11-2 win over Massapequa, a team that would go on to make a state semifinal.
Second team
A — Casey Cummings, So., Nyack
A — Maggie Mauer, Sr., North Rockland
A — Molly Mitchell, Jr., Suffern
A — Charlotte Ullman, Jr., Suffern
MF — Kate Frae, Sr., Clarkstown South
MF — Mikaela Larkin, Sr., Nanuet
MF — Jaclyn Mahoney, Jr., Pearl River
MF — Karlie Maye, Sr., Clarkstown South
MF — Julie Pope, Jr. Albertus Magnus
D — Nicole DiBellis, So., Suffern
D — Kayleigh Cassidy, Jr., Nyack
D — Jenna Slamka, Sr., North Rockland
G — Dani Parisi, Sr., Tappan Zee
Domination:All 4 Section 1 girls lacrosse teams win to advance to state semifinals
Honorable mention: Emily Dwyer, Sr., MF, Pearl River; Sadie Essick, So, MF, North Rockland; Jenna Gerlach, Sr., MF, Clarkstown South; Mia Gilbart, Jr., D, Nyack; Ava Greenhut, Jr., D, Suffern; Audrey Hanchar, So., D, Tappan Zee; Blythe Leahy, So., G, Clarkstown North; Ana Liquori, Jr., A, North Rockland;.Ashley MacCartney, So,,D, Nyack; Kelcy McGoldrick, Jr., D, Nyack; Addie McKiernan, Sr., MF,, Tappan Zee; Kacey Pritts, Jr., A, Pearl River, Addison Savarese, Jr., D, Pearl River; Acadia Scanlon, So., G, North Rockland; Caroline Tait, Sr., D, Albertus Magnus; Kristen Travaglini, Jr., A, Albertus Magnus; Daniela Traubiano, Jr., A, Suffern
Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.
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