Garden City girls lacrosse's Ashley Clark scores late goal to key 6th straight Nassau title for Trojans
Garden City players celebrate winning the Nassau Class B girls lacrosse final over Manhasset at Farmingdale State College on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Credit: Joe Orovitz
With the score knotted at 10 in the Nassau Class B championship game, the Garden City girls lacrosse team called its final timeout with 1:43 remaining in regulation.
Coach Dave Ettinger’s message to the team? Get the ball to Ashley Clark.
Out of the huddle, Clark dodged down the middle off a pick from Regan Backer, finding room for two more steps before planting the ball in the back of the cage with 1:30 remaining. Clark’s second goal of the game would later seal the deal for the top-seeded Trojans, who earned their sixth consecutive county title, 11-10, over No. 2 Manhasset on Wednesday night at Farmingdale State.
“I literally blacked out — I barely remember it,” Clark said. “I just knew we needed a goal. I knew we needed to score. I saw my matchup, Regan set a great pick for me and I just went from there. It was exactly what we drew up.”
Garden City (17-2) will next advance to the Long Island championship at 12:30 p.m. June 7 at Stony Brook. The Trojans’ opponent will be decided at the Suffolk championships on Sunday.
A minute thirty was plenty of time for Manhasset to level the playing field, but Garden City’s defense forced a stalemate until time expired. Sophomore goalkeeper Teagan Gately made eight saves.
“It was a little nerve-wracking, but I knew that we had it,” Gately said. “We know this team, we’ve played high-intensity games like this before and I know we always find a way. I believed in my team, I believed in the defense in front of me and I knew that we could force them out.”
Backer had a goal and two assists while Clark, Michaela Molgano, Grace Brantuk and Averie Smith scored two goals apiece. Harper Lambert, Elim Yang and Taylor Gordon scored three goals each for Manhasset, who finished its season 15-3.
The Trojans last met Manhasset on May 2 in the Woodstick Classic, where Garden City took home the trophy in a 16-8 win. This time around, Ettinger said he knew it wouldn’t be so easy. Despite relishing the glory for six years in a row, he said he’ll never grow tired of the feeling.
“Every team starts the season with the same goal: Win a county championship,” Ettinger said. “This one wasn’t easy. Manhasset is a great team and I knew they would fight, I knew they would give us everything they could. We’ve been here before, but it’s always a battle and the feeling of earning it never gets old.”
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.
