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Michaela Fay van Suffern tops the all-star list

VaselineJuly 4, 2024

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Michaela Fay van Suffern tops the all-star list

2023 Journal News/lohud Rockland Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year

Michaela Fay

School: Suffering

Year: Sophomores

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 the history of the program.”

That’s quite a statement, especially since Suffern has long had a very good program that has produced several Division I students, but also since Fay 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 losses. Consider that in an 8-7 regular-season loss to Garden City on Long Island, 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 win in the state regional final over Saratoga Springs, she also had six goals and an assist.

At one game, officials told Callanan that Fay was the fastest player they had ever seen. All of which explains why the 16-year-old, who first played girls lacrosse as a freshman in Suffern’s youth program, is The Journal News/lohud Rockland Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year.

Girls lacrosse goals often seem inflated by the number of open-position goals. But Fay, whose mother played lacrosse for Suffern and later Loyola University, can score just about anywhere, anytime, even when doubled up, which isn’t unusual. At 5-4, 120 pounds, she’s not big. But her shot is huge. She can shoot over the top, sidearm and submarine, all with giddyap on.

But instead of pointing to her shooting and big offensive numbers, she said the biggest positives about her game are that she “always gives 100 percent” and is “selfless,” rather than a ball-handler. Highlights of the season included seeing her team “love the ball” and celebrate each other during a win in late April 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 are that “we don’t underestimate anyone on any given day,” said she wishes she could relive that Saratoga victory.

Her speed and stamina are naturals, but she credits her coaches with “pushing me to be the best I can be.” And that doesn’t just apply to lacrosse. Fay, who was drafted to the varsity lacrosse team in the middle of her eighth grade year, also plays soccer and basketball for Suffern and earned all-section honors in soccer last fall.

But it’s lacrosse that she wants to do in college. That’s been, since high school, “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 without worrying about the backlash his long layoff in the Section 1 finals might cause. With his best player (Fay) injured, Callanan had his team play keep-away against the Wappingers, and the tactic worked. His team, when healthy, was often dominant. And their season didn’t end until the Class A state semifinals. Suffern finished the year 17-4.

The rest of the first team

Olivia Galati

School: Clarkstown South

Year: Senior

Position: Attack

Highlights: Galati, who won an all-section award, will play for Stevenson University after a season in which she scored 41 goals, had 18 assists and won the race for 38 balls from the draw.

Ella Gould

School: New Australia

Year: Sophomores

Position: Attack

Highlights: Gould played a key role in the RedHawks’ attack, scoring 56 goals, dishing out 34 assists and winning the race to 69 balls off the draw. She won all-section honors.

Kristen Javenes

School: North Rockland

Year: Senior

Position: Attack

Highlights: Javenes, the all-section player who will play for SUNY Cortland next year, came back strong after missing her junior season with a torn ACL. She had 45 goals and 17 assists and showed her speed by catching 62 balls.

Olivia Castaldo

School: North Rockland

Year: Senior

Position: Midfield

Highlights: An All-American who played for the Red Raider varsity since the eighth grade, Castaldo had 76 goals and 20 assists and outscored opponents with 106 balls from the draw. She will take the court for Division I Monmouth University next year.

Cassidy Deierlein

School: Albertus Magnus

Year: Senior

Position: Midfielder

Highlights: Deierlein, who will play for Division I Radford University next year, scored 45 goals, had six assists and led opponents by 45 balls.

Kate Gould

School: New Australia

Year: Junior

Position: Midfield

Highlights: The All-American, who has committed to play at Division I Yale, had 107 points with 55 goals and 52 assists to help the RedHawks post a 15-1 regular season. With speed and good anticipation, Gould also outscored opponents by 130 balls from the draw.

Caitlin Ruggiero

School: Suffering

Year: Senior

Position: Midfielder

Highlights: The Academic All-American, who takes her 4.17 grade point average and lacrosse skills to Division I Stonehill College, finished 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: Defender

Highlights: A physical presence known for her tenacity, McHugh was key in stopping opposing teams’ offensive drives and was important to Tappan Zee on clears. McHugh will play for Division 1 Youngstown State next year.

Katie Picarello

School: North Rockland

Year: Senior

Position: Defender

Highlights: Known for his ability to play any position, the SUNY New Paltz commit earned second-team all-section honors. Picarello, a shutdown defender, also scored 15 goals and recorded 15 assists.

Nevin Sullivan

School: Suffering

Year: Sophomores

Position: Defender

Highlights: By switching 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 switched positions. She was also Suffern’s draw specialist. The Mounties won the ball on 61 percent of the draws she took.

Keira Furey

School: New Australia

Year: Senior

Position: Goalkeeper

Highlights: The All-American, who will play for Division I Fairfield University next year, surpassed 500 career varsity saves during a season in which Furey helped lead her team to an undefeated regular season in Section 1 play. She allowed just five goals per game this spring.

Jillian Terlizzi

School: Suffering

Year: Junior

Position: Goalkeeper

Highlights: The All-American, who has committed to play for Division I UConn, recovered from a broken collarbone in February that caused her to miss three early-season games. In a sport where goals are often plentiful and save percentages often low, Terlizzi, who sometimes faces elite competition, stopped 48.6 percent of the shots she faced and recorded 87 saves on the season. One of her best games came during the regular season, when she stopped seven of nine shots in an 11-2 win over Massapequa, a team that would advance to the state semifinals.

Second team

a — Casey Cummings, South 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, South Africa, 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 and 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 and field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

VaselineJuly 4, 2024

0 5 minutes read