Cold Spring Harbor girls lacrosse wins third straight state Class D title
Olivia Mulada #1 of the Cold Spring Harbor Seahawks celebrates after winning the NYSPHSAA Class D Final against Penn Yan Academy at SUNY Cortland on June 13, 2026. Credit: Todd F. Michalek
CORTLAND — All season long, the Cold Spring Harbor girls lacrosse team has been working to prove itself.
Prove itself to its opponents, its coaches and even its own athletes. The Cold Spring Harbor girls lacrosse team needed to prove that it was capable of doing it all again.
Well, consider it done. The Seahawks successfully secured their third straight state Class D title in an 11-8 win over Section V’s Penn Yan Academy at SUNY Cortland on Saturday.
Even as reigning state champions, coach Danielle Castellane said this group still feels like an underdog story.
“We did all of this with a new group,” Castellane said. “And it wasn’t expected out of us to do this again. I think people needed to be convinced. Sometimes even the coaches needed to be convinced, but the best part about these kids is that they do the convincing. The moment keeps getting bigger and they keep stepping up.”
Cold Spring Harbor completed its season 16-5 and Penn Yan Academy finished 21-2.
The championship game certainly wasn’t easy. The Seahawks trailed 5-3 at halftime before they found their groove. Kaitlin Millett scored four of her five goals in the third quarter, playing a key role in Cold Spring Harbor leading 8-6 after the period.
Cold Spring Harbor never led in the first half, but the Seahawks never surrendered the advantage after taking it. Millett said her big quarter — and the team’s general shift in play — can be attributed to a halftime regroup.
“We just knew we needed more energy,” Millett said. “We knew we needed to step on it because otherwise, we won't win this game. We came out of the locker room ready to work for it.”
Castellane said that Millett, only a sophomore, has been clutch all season.
“She’s had the most amazing playoff season,” Castellane said. “She’s been getting better and better and better. With her improvement, she’s definitely going to be a huge asset for us in the future.”
Sophomore Hannah Sliwak scored all three of her goals in the fourth quarter to help seal the title. On a team made up of primarily underclassmen, Sliwak said connection has never been an issue.
“We’re a very young team, but we all clicked so quickly and it shows up on the field in the way we support each other no matter what,” Sliwak said. “If someone makes a mistake, we can always rely on each other and I think that’s what gets us through games like this.”
Though she’s a junior, goalkeeper Audrey Davidian is considered a veteran on the team. Since getting her chance in the cage after Newsday’s 2025 Nassau Player of the Year Maya Soskin graduated, Davidian finished with 171 saves this season, including seven in the state championship game.
Davidian said she didn’t mind being underestimated coming into the season. In fact, she enjoyed it.
“We came in as the freshmen of the power league,” Davidian said. “We’re young, we don’t have as much experience, but we took that label and ran with it. It’s genuinely one of the best feelings to know that we came together to make this happen again. I’m so, so proud of us.”
Standout attacker Olivia Mulada was locked down in a tight faceguard for much of the game. But when she couldn’t contribute to the offense, her teammates did.
“[Mulada] is a competitor,” Castellane said. “Even if she’s not getting the rock, even if she’s not scoring the goals, she is setting the tone in terms of her energy. She’s a force even when she’s not being utilized. She wants everyone around her to be successful, and she trusts that they can get the job done.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
