The Cold Spring Harbor girls lacrosse team has established itself as one of the best teams on Long Island and seniors Maggie Spehr and Ruby Spielberger have been key to building that legacy.

Cold Spring Harbor defeated Mattituck, 18-7, in the Long Island Class D championship game Tuesday at Adelphi University, earning its fifth straight Long Island title.

“I’m so proud to be a part of this team,” Spehr said. “We’re constantly pushing each other to be the best players we can be, and all of our hard work has led us to being here, and playing some awesome lacrosse.”

The Seahawks asserted their dominance early on, taking a 5-2 lead after the first quarter. They went on to outscore the Tuckers 5-2 in each of the next two quarters, leading 15-6 entering the fourth. The Seahawks held Mattituck to one goal in the final period. 

Spehr had five goals and one assist and Spielberger had five goals and two assists.

“Our ball movement today was a lot quicker,” Spehr said. “They were playing a different defense than we’re used to, so we just really swung the ball around, found the openings, and capitalized on that.”

Thirteen of Cold Spring Harbor's 25 players are seniors, most of whom have grown up playing lacrosse together, and six - including Spehr and Spielberger - have played together on the varsity squad since freshman year.

“Over the last four years, we’ve really grown together, and our chemistry has just gotten better and better,” Spielberger said. “We all trust each other so much."

“We expect a lot from them because they’ve been here a long time and they’ve continued to set the bar so high,” coach Danielle Castellane said. “They created a culture freshman year, and that culture has become the stamp of this team. We’re not lowering the bar any time soon.”

Seniors Kelly Callaghan and Ryan Reynolds each had two goals and three assists and Sienna Koke added two goals. Page Kellershon scored three goals for Mattituck, which finished 10-9.

“This team has so much manpower,” Castellane said. “We’re senior-led, but even one of our sophomores was being face-guarded. They’re all so humble, and when your best players allow other players to be great, you know you’re going to be successful.”

Cold Spring Harbor (16-3) will travel to Lakeland High School in Shrub Oak 3:30 p.m. Saturday for the Southeast Regional Final - a new addition on the road to the state championships - against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. A victory there would put the Seahawks back in the state championships, scheduled for June 13-14 at SUNY Cortland. Cold Spring Harbor won its first state title last season. 

“It’s incredible to have this opportunity again, especially for a lot of our senior years,” Spehr said. “We may have an extra step to get to that championship, but we’re looking forward to the journey."

“Our motto recently has been ‘no matter what,’ ” Castellane said. “No matter what game they throw at us, no matter who we’re playing against, we can’t control those things. But, no matter what, we have to get it done.”