Hauppauge Storms Past Blue Devils
The Hauppauge girls' lacrosse team is one of the best in the state this spring, but here was Huntington, keeping pace with the powerful Eagles during the opening minutes of the first half of a Suffolk Class B quarterfinal game last Saturday morning.
Hauppauge scored three quick goals, but Blue Devil senior Emilie Pugliese responded with one of her own to get Huntington on the board and make it a game at 3-1. Then the roof caved in.
The Eagles scored 14 unanswered goals and seemed to be at least a step ahead of the Blue Devils at all times. Huntington's eighth grade goalie Anna Tesoriero stopped 11 shots during the onslaught and Katie Healy came on to record two saves, but Hauppauge was just about unstoppable.
The Eagles are seeded No. 1 in the county playoff bracket and ranked fourth in the latest New York State Sportswriters' Assn. Hauppauge swept through the regular season with a 14-0 mark and are a perfect 17-0 overall.
The loss ended Huntington's season. The Blue Devils, who were seeded No. 8 in the playoffs, finished the regular season with a 9-5 record and ended the year at 9-6 overall.
The game marked the final high school chapter in the careers of Huntington seniors Emile Pugliese (High Point University), Sarah Ehrman (Stony Brook University), Emma Hayes-Hurley (Binghamton University) and Shea Scully (University of Bridgeport), who are all headed of to college on lacrosse scholarships and reserve goalie Samantha Mohr.
Pugliese said one of the team's major goals this season was to make the playoffs. "We met that goal, but unfortunately we lost to a very aggressive Hauppauge team," she said. "This season we had our ups and downs, but we managed to adapt and overcome many challenges."
Pugliese said the seniors will miss head coach Nancy Wilson and her assistant, Brad Reminick. "The team for next season will be great," Pugliese said. "There are a lot of strong players coming up the ladder. I wish them the best."
Blue Devil Notes: Huntington managed to get off seven shots in the game . . . Former Blue Devil lacrosse great Casey Scully attended the game with her mother, Carol Scully. The pair watched senior Shea Scully play the final game of her high school career . . . Hannah Burnett, Alexis Thompson and Hayes-Hurley led the Blue Devil offense this spring . . . Pugliese, Scully and Ehrman controlled the midfield . . . Huntington Superintendent John J. Finello was also in attendance before leaving to go watch the Blue Devil boys' team play at Islip . . . Pugliese said Tesoriero "had a tremendous year" after holding down the starting goalie position as an eighth grader.