A new season will bring about a new look for the Huntington High School varsity field hockey team. After losing many of their top players to graduation last June the Blue Devils will look to their returnees to keep the program moving forward.
Head coach Kathy Wright and assistant coach Allison Conlon will lead Huntington this fall. Practice sessions will commence on Monday, August 22. The Blue Devils finished 7-7 in Suffolk Division II play last year; 7-8 overall.
Wright and Conlon have their work cut-out for them as they go about assembling the 2016 team. All-County players Irina DeSimone and Emma DeGennaro, All-Conference Kelly Palladino and All-Division Cara Sorrentino are all headed to college along with fellow Class of 2016 teammates Meghan Plant, Sarah Fernandez, Kelsey Jamison, Victoria Martin and Jaclyn Schultz.
DeSimone tallied three goals and five assists from her forward position. DeGennaro officially played defense, but she really covered the field from one end line to the other. The teenager had three goals and two assists. Palladino also played superb defense and she even managed to score a goal. Sorrentino starred at goalie, recording 103 saves. Plant was another superb player for the Blue Devils, notching a team high eight goals as one of Huntington’s best forwards.
Last year’s roster included 15 underclassmen, who are all eligible to return. The veterans are led by incoming senior Liz Berejka, who scored four goals and added four assists. Fellow incoming seniors Grace Curran and Jessica-Rose Greene are both offensive standouts. Curran scored six goals and Greene had three goals and an assist last fall.
Incoming senior Michaela Carnesi had two goals and an assist last year while incoming junior Lindsay McKenna also scored a goal and incoming senior Alexa Cassar added an assist.
Incoming sophomore Morgan Minicozzi is expected to be one of Huntington’s mainstays on defense. Incoming senior Ashley Wright along with Curran and McKenna should give the Blue Devils a formidable midfield line.
The Huntington High School field hockey team
begins practice on August 22
Two of Huntington’s losses last fall were by one goal and three others were by two goals. The Blue Devil offense scored 30 goals with many coming from its powerful forward line.
The varsity coaches will look to last year’s junior varsity team for some answers. That squad compiled a 14-1 record under Conlon, who moved into the varsity assistant position for the current year when Marissa Bergmann decided to coach soccer at the middle school level. The Blue Devil JV came within one goal of finishing unbeaten.
Captained by Sarah Agrillo, Abby Fernandez and Sydney Van den Valentyn, Huntington shutout 10 opponents. The team’s lone loss came to Smithtown East, 1-0.
The 19-player team was led by Van den Valentyn, Agrillo, Megan Byrnes, Anna Wickey and Holly Wright
Van den Valentyn (12 goals and three assists) and Byrnes (seven goals and seven assists), contributed to the team’s above-average offense from their forward positions. Wickey tallied seven goals and six assists from her link position. Agrillo was a defensive star. Wright, was an exceptional link. Phoebe Walther, Emily Stevens and Lianna DeChiaro also played key roles on the team.
The Huntington varsity will host a scrimmage against Harborfields before embarking on a series of 14 home and away league games against Smithtown East, Copiague, North Babylon, Riverhead, Newfield, Eastport-South Manor and West Babylon. A non-league crossover game will be played at Bay Shore on Saturday, September 24 at noon.