With just three teams to go in the LILJ top 24 preseason rankings, the Garden City Trojans enter at number three. For the last three seasons they have been the team to beat in Nassau Class B with three straight appearances to at least the Long Island Championship. Last season they were the best team on the Island in Class B and were just a few plays away from winning the state championship against Victor. Leading the charge is Head Coach Dave Ettinger and they return the vast majority of their team this season and have as good a chance as ever to win their first state championship since 2017.
Garden City has an abundance of returning talent on this team that makes them one of the deepest teams on the island, especially on the offensive end of the field. At attack they welcome back two top flight attackers in their respective classes in senior Florida commit Maureen Arendt and junior Northwestern commit Kyle Finnell. This duo played at an elite level last season and accounted for a huge amount of the Trojans offense between the 65 points from Arendt and 78 points from Finnell, and will be among the top scoring tandems once again this season. Their high powered offense continues with junior Holy Cross commit Arci Haffner and sophomore Ashley Clark who will each play a big hand in the Trojans success. Last season Haffner played meaningful minutes as a sophomore, scoring 11 goals, while Clark tallied eight points last year and enters year two on varsity. Clark also comes off a very strong showing in the LILJ HSWL, where she was second on the team in goals with 12 and second in points with 16. Also in the 2026 class as part of their attack is Michaela Molgano and Averie Smith who are each in their second year on varsity.
The midfield for Garden City is laden with upperclassmen between seniors Kendal Morris (Arizona St.), and juniors Tori Ottomanelli (Harvard), Ellie Anderson (Cornell), Meaghan Lynch (Cal), and Kathryn Monaco (Villanova). Between Morris and Ottomanelli they return as their two leading scorers from the midfield, combining for 45 points, and Morris is their primary draw specialist. The Trojans also have among the top sophomore midfielders on Long Island in Regan Backer, who’s already entering her third season on varsity and played big minutes as a freshman, scoring 12 goals with six assists for 18 points. Their midfield also includes fellow sophomore Deanna Prisco who also returns with varsity experience after being on the team last year as a freshman.
On the defensive side of the field they are led by Duke bound senior defender Mabel Overbeck who brings the utmost tenacity, great athleticism and will often times be matched up against opponents top offensive players. Playing with Overbeck on defense among their key returners is senior Binghamton commit Emily Romeo, senior Tara Hollis, and junior Notre Dame commit Brooke Hopkins along with junior Brynn Reilly. The goaltending for the Trojans is as good as it gets with senior Yale commit Niamh Pfaff who saved 125 shots last year and always seems to come up with crucial saves in the biggest moments. In the winter league Pfaff led all goalies with 56 saves and had a save percentage of 47% in seven games played.
Garden City is seeking their fourth straight trip to the LIC as they look to keep adding to their illustrious history in the program.
