South Side girls lacrosse wins Nassau C championship on Juliet Diorio's late goal
Juliet Diorio of South Side, left, is hugged by Summer Stack after scoring the winning goal in the Nassau Class C girls lacrosse final against Wantagh at Farmingdale State College on Thursday, May 28, 2026. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
When the moment got big, Juliet Diorio didn’t falter.
The No. 1 South Side girls lacrosse team called its final timeout with 23.5 seconds remaining in the Nassau Class C championship. The score was tied at seven against No. 2 Wantagh. Bobbie Creo got the offensive motion going, taking a shot from the left side that rattled off the pipe.
South Side recovered the rebound, found Diorio at the top of the arc, and gave her the room she needed to finish the job. The freshman dodged down the middle and ripped a shot that found the back of the cage, earning South Side its second straight county title, 8-7, at Farmingdale State.
“I was scared,” Diorio said. “I knew I needed to shoot the ball, I really waited until the last second, but it worked out. It’s so much fun winning with my best friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to this game.”
The Cyclones (12-7) now advance to the Long Island championship, where they will face the winner of No. 1 Sayville/No. 2 Harborfields at 3 p.m. June 7 at Stony Brook. Diorio finished with a team-high three goals and an assist.
Just minutes before Diorio’s game-winning shot, Wantagh had an opportunity to take the lead. . Sabrina Asadurian lined up for a free possession shot with less than two minutes remaining, but Cyclones’ goalkeeper Tara Cody stayed cool under the pressure. Cody got a piece of Asadurian’s shot, tallying her eighth save and sending the momentum back to the offense.
“We had to give this everything we had,” Cody said. “I had to use my whole body. We knew [Asadurian] is one of their best players and we had to stop her if we wanted to win this game.”
Asadurian scored three goals and Brigid Reilly had two goals and two assists for Wantagh, who finished 7-11. Madeline Gonzalez made 12 saves.
After graduating a strong senior class last season, South Side coach Robert Devlin said he knew this year would look different. This time around, the second championship is even sweeter.
“They work so well together to form a cohesive unit,” Devlin said. “Last year, we relied on two or three girls to do a lot of the heavy lifting but, this year, it’s hard work across the board. Everyone chipped into this, and it’s just awesome.”
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.
