Ward Melville girls soccer continues to play its part and finish the season undefeated

Most players on the Ward Melville girls soccer team don’t know the feeling of walking off the varsity field with a loss. Maddie Costello is not one of those players. And he remembers everything from that competition.

Costello was rushing to the field after her confirmation at church. She quickly changed into her uniform and ran onto the field for the playoff game. He remembers that it was cloudy, dark and rainy, which was apparently a sign of events to come.

“I remember being nervous and almost shaking with everyone not knowing what was going on,” Costello said. “It was almost like the calm before the storm. The first half was calm, but in the second everything fell apart. And then this terrible feeling.

Ward Melville lost 3-2 to Smithtown West in the Suffolk Class AA semifinals on Oct. 30, 2021, after taking a 2-0 halftime lead.

1,089 days have passed since that competition, and Costello and Ward Melville have no longer experienced such a terrible feeling.

Following Tuesday’s 6-0 victory over Whitman, the Patriots have the longest unbeaten streak (57) in public school history in Long Island girls soccer history, according to Newsday Records. Sadie Pitrelli scored five goals and Keira Hunt scored the other.

Ward Melville finished the regular season at 14-0-1 with Tuesday’s victory. Since the start of the 2022 season, the Patriots have gone 50-0-7 and won two state championships. South Side’s previous record was 56 games from 1999-2002, going 52-0-4 before losing in the Class A state final.

“It’s actually absurd to think that almost three years have passed,” said Costello, who is committed to play at Clemson. “It’s crazy. I could never imagine it.”

“I think it’s quite an honor that we could go undefeated for so many games in a row, considering how crazy football can be,” coach John Diehl said. “Anything can happen. But they were very consistent.”

Senior goalkeeper Kate Ronzoni has been playing on the varsity team since eighth grade and remembers being impressed by all the talent at an early age.

“As soon as I stepped on the field as an eighth-grader, I knew we were going to do amazing things,” Ronzoni said. “And now, as I stand here as a twelfth grader, I come full circle and what I expected in eighth grade is now happening in twelfth grade.”

Ward Melville will try to win the state championship for the third straight season this season. If the Patriots accomplish this, it will mark their third consecutive undefeated season.

“We always have something in the back of our minds, but we would like to focus more on what we did to get here,” Ronzoni said. “But of course, if we do it again, it would be amazing.”

Ward Melville won its first league title in 2022 with a 17-0-3 season, winning Class AA. The Patriots went 19-0-3 last season and won the inaugural Class AAA state crown.

It took a lot of talent, both still on the team and after graduation, to play 57 games without defeat.

Ellie Munoz, who is currently a goalkeeper for Molloy, was the starting senior goalie in 2022 and remembers seeing all the young talent on the field her senior year and knowing something special was happening within the program.

“They definitely have a good chance of (winning) three in a row, which would be crazy because before that my senior year was the first year we won states,” Munoz said. “It’s great to see how far the program has come, both from the outside and being a part of it.”

Peyton Costello, last year’s Newsday Player of the Year, follows her sister Maddie and the team during her season at William & Mary. She said the team felt the burden of chasing back-to-back undefeated state championships last season and that she is “impressed” with the team’s success now that it is possible again. Peyton even Facetimed after Tuesday’s win.

“I know it’s hard because even last year I felt the pressure that we had to win because I felt like we were in the spotlight, so now after two years of winning, I feel like there’s even more pressure on them,” Peyton said. “Not that they gave up under pressure because they’re so good, but I think sometimes it’s really hard to deal with that pressure and I’m really proud of them for handling it and still being a top team.”