Thompson a Warrior, but Blue Devils Lose in OT
Alexis Thompson is a warrior. Trailing 9-6 in the second half, the senior rallied her Huntington High School girls' lacrosse teammates, scoring two of the next three goals to send the game into overtime. But, it just wasn't the Blue Devils' day as Harborfields went on to claim an 11-10 victory in a Suffolk Division II playoff game.
Thompson is known for "taking no prisoners" on the lacrosse field and this past Saturday was no different. The Lafayette College bound teenager played her typically hard-nosed game, battling the Tornado defense for any advantage she could gain. Thompson scored four goals and added four assists. She gave it her all until the final seconds of the game, scoring her last goal as overtime expired.
"I think that everyone played the best they could," Thompson said. "There is nothing to be ashamed of or to beat ourselves up about because everyone came together one last time and left it all on the field and that's all we could have asked for."
Playing before a crowd of about 250 that lined the west side of the natural grass field at Harbofields (10-7), the two teams slugged it out, with neither squad managing to gain much of an edge during a tightly played first half.
The Blue Devils led 5-4 before the Tornadoes answered with two goals to take a 6-5 lead into halftime. Huntington (10-6) again responded, but eventually fell behind again, before Thompson willed her team back into the game, scoring a pair of goals and creating openings for her teammates.
Several of Thompson's shots narrowly missed, sailing over the top of the goal as she tried to locate the ball above the head of Harborfields goalie Chandler Banks. The Blue Devil star's fourth goal of the game tied the score at 9-9. Huntington had possession of the ball for nearly four minutes near the end of the second half, but was unable to get off a shot as the Tornado defense held tough.
After the first three-minute overtime ended without either team scoring, Harborfields' Katie White put the ball in the net with less than two minutes to play in the second OT period to make it 10-9. The Tornadoes scored again with nine seconds remaining on the clock. Thompson then got the ball and raced full speed toward the goal, firing a shot that went in as the horn sounded to end the game. It was a fitting way for the senior to end her career.
Playing in her last game for the Blue Devils, Hannah Burnett turned in her usual gutty performance. Despite being knocked to the ground twice and being forced to the sidelines at one point, the University of Florida bound teenager had three goals and four assists.
Emma DeGennaro had two goals and had an assist for Huntington. Katie Reilly added a goal and two assists. Goalie Anna Tesoriero recorded 14 saves for the Blue Devils.
"It was a heartbreaking loss, but I couldn't be prouder of our team, Burnett said. "We are so young and we fought to the very end. The returning players have so much to look forward to and so much potential for next year. I will always remember the time I spent with these girls and how close we became as a family."
Once the game ended, Harborfields celebrated at midfield while Huntington's players were visibly upset. Burnett (66 goals and 51 assists) and Thompson (55 goals and 50 assists) turned in sensational senior seasons and several younger players emerged to play key starting roles on the team.
Huntington coaches Kathy Wright and Kailene Abt will take the next few days to decompress before immediately turning their attention to next season.