The Huntington girls’ lacrosse team won its biggest game of the season so far, toppling Sachem North at Blue Devil Field, 11-5.
Huntington trailed at halftime, 4-3 before staging a furious second half rally that saw the Blue Devils go on an 8-1 run. The victory improved the team’s record to 6-3 in Suffolk Division I. Sachem North fell to 7-2 overall.
Sophomore Abby Maichin is one of Suffolk's best players. (Mike Connell photo.)
Sophomore Abby Maichin led Huntington’s offensive attack, tallying four goals and two assists. Senior Isabella Piccola had three goals and an assist. Sarah Agrillo, Emma Greenhill and Amber Stieve all scored a goal and added an assist. Paige Lennon also scored in the game.
“The key today was finding our rhythm on offense and working with each other,” senior Bella Annunziata said. “Once we got that down, the defense couldn’t stop us. We’ll be working hard for the next few games because we are facing very good teams.”
Huntington’s goalies stopped a combined 13 shots, with Maya Santa-Maria recording eight saves and Megan Bacik making five saves.
“Today was definitely a game of possession and about the will to win,” Maichin said. “We wanted this game and that is why the score was what it was. Today was our statement game and we got the job done. For the rest of the season we just need to keep up the energy and the intensity we have now and carry it out through the rest of our schedule and then through playoffs.”
Maichin leads the Blue Devils with 33 goals and 12 assists. Greenhill (22g; 11a), Agrillo (13g; 11a) and Piccola (16g; 7a) are among the team’s top scorers.
“We were all hungry for a win and knew that coming up with one in this game would be huge for the rest of our season,” Greenhill said. “The team as a whole played really unified, which ultimately helped us win. Today’s game was a must win and we’re hopeful that if we play the way we did today, we can win the upcoming games.”
Huntington has five games remaining on its schedule. It plays at Smithtown West on Friday and then hosts North Babylon on May 2 before playing at Ward Melville (May 5) and Brentwood (May 9). The Blue Devils host Northport on May 11 in the regular season finale.
The importance of coming back to defeat Sachem North after trailing at halftime cannot be overestimated. “We knew today had to be a statement win for us,” Piccola said. “We found our connections on offense and outran them on the ground balls on defense. It was a great win for us. We can’t wait to show Smithtown West on Friday who we really are.”
Stieve played one of the best games of her career, excelling on both offense and defense against Sachem North. “Today we really found our place in the second half,” she said. “We settled in and ran our offense. The defense was unstoppable and locked off who we needed to. I think we need to keep our energy from today and bring it to our next game. As a team, I think this really brought up our confidence and gave us a better outlook on the season. Winning today allowed us to look forward and improve our record as we move on and look to the playoffs.”
If ever there was a victory as a result of a team effort, it was this one. “Today everyone gave it their all,” said senior Catie Ricciardelli, one of Huntington’s defensive mainstays. “We didn’t let down at halftime and came out hot and stayed strong the entire game. We are using this as motivation and we are ready for what comes our way.”
Attention to detail paid off handsomely for the Blue Devils. “The key today was fixing the little things,” junior Paige Lennon said. “Once we fixed the little things after the first half, we started scoring. The team is very excited and positive about the rest of the season. We see big things happening.”
Huntington knew full well this was the biggest game of the season up to this point on the schedule. “We played a full 50 minutes,” Agrillo said. “No one let up. Everyone kept pushing until the final second. I think this win gives us more motivation than anything else. Everyone is finally realizing that we have what it takes to go all the way.”
