The Huntington High School girls’ soccer team is heading into the “big unknown” and that’s what makes playing in the spring season exciting.
The Blue Devils have played in the fall for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic has led Section XI, the governing body for interscholastic sports in Suffolk to postpone athletics until January 2021. Fall sports are slotted into the period running from March 1 to May 1.
Coached by John Walsh and Vincent Tannazzo, Huntington will be led by its spectacular goalkeeper Ainsley Lumpe. The talented teenager tallied six shutouts last fall before a late-season injury forced her to the sidelines for the final four games.
The returning varsity roster also includes sophomore Gianna Forte, juniors Katie Browne, Hanna Carlson, Teddi Carnesi, Edelyn Garcia and Emily Plachta and seniors Isabella Algieri, Alexa Amorison, Johanna Campos-Moreira, Giavanna Devoe, Jordan Forte, Sarah Giarraputo, Julia Gorecki, Kemberlin Hernandez-Veliz, Timmeree Koepele, Charlotte Maggio and Julia Steinberg. Several younger players from last year’s JV squad are expected to be added to the roster once the varsity team officially begins practicing.
The returning veterans are excited to know that despite the COVID-19 related interruption, there will be a season after all, provided infection rates remain low.
“I’m definitely disappointed about the fall season being pushed back, but I’m extremely excited that we get to play in the spring, especially considering we have so many seniors this year,” Lumpe said. “We are trying to do whatever we can to stay positive as a group and keeping everyone involved and in touch during our off-season. Our team this year looks really good. We have a lot of returning players who are now comfortable with the program and some new talent that will hopefully add to the skill level of the team.”
The Blue Devils are proving to be a resilient and realistic bunch. “I am a little bummed out not to play this fall, but I know it is for the better,” Carnesi said. “This is a completely unexpected time we are living in, so the safest decisions have to be made. I am going to continue to work my hardest while training to make sure in the spring I am ready to go at full speed. Heading into the spring season, I feel we are going to have a lot of energy and excitement due to the fact that we will hopefully be getting back to high school sports. We are expecting the presence of a lot of talented, athletic girls from JV this year, so I am feeling extremely confident.”
Huntington will enter the season with very high hopes. Players are optimistic they will have a successful campaign and plan on working hard to make it so.
“I’m very excited to play soccer in March-April,” Browne said. “Although we won’t have a traditional season, it will still be the best feeling to get out on the field with my teammates for the time we have! This year is extremely unpredictable, so I’m excited to work with whatever we can get. Our team is an athletic one with natural talent, so I think we will do great coming back in March.”
Plenty of details still have to be worked out, including the composition of each league, schedules and what format will be used for post-season competition. But all the Blue Devils care about is that they will be returning to the field.
“I was really looking forward to playing this fall and being back out on the field playing with my teammates,” Plachta said. “I’m happy that it was just rescheduled and not cancelled, which I know is appreciated by a lot of the other players, too. I think it will be a little strange to be playing in March, but I’m confident that the team will be ready to go come spring.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives across the world. Tens of millions of people have been infected and about a million have died.
“I am really looking forward to the spring soccer and lacrosse seasons,” Steinberg said. “I understand the current decision is based on safety. I am hopeful that we get the opportunity to play in the spring as scheduled and I am really looking forward to getting back on the Huntington High School fields with my teammates.”
Huntington’s seniors are planning on making the season everything it possibly can be, despite the postponement from fall to late winter/spring.
“I’m really disappointed that soccer season has been delayed until March, but we are going to have to make the best of it,” Jordan Forte said. “It will definitely be different for many playing a fall sport after a winter sport. We have a lot of returnees on the team this year and knowing that we have a lot to look forward to. We have a team full of seniors that are eager to get our last season of soccer in and everyone is willing to work hard. March can’t come soon enough.”
Several of last year’s JV players are expected to get promoted by Walsh and join the varsity squad. Forward Adrianna LoScalzo’s 14 goals helped propel the junior varsity girls’ soccer team to an 11-2-1 record last fall.
LoScalzo added four assists for a team-high 18 points. Midfielders Caroline O’Rourke (7g, 8a) and April Swanson (2g, 6a) also played key roles on the team. Sweeper Hope Bilkey turned in a standout season on defense. Midfield Eliza Walther (1g) and defender Zoe Sakellarios (1a) also shined. Goalie Ashley Genao stopped more than 40 shots in the net.
“Adrianna was our top goal scorer, breaking any known JV record with 14 goals,” head coach Maria Canino said. “Caroline, April and Eliza controlled the midfield and were the playmakers. Zoe was strong on defense along with Hope. As the last line of defense, Ashley really helped us.”
Canino said that “switching our game to a possession game,” was one of the highlights of the year along with outscoring the opposition, 50-10.
Abby Baade successfully followed in the footsteps of her oldest sister, Brooke, who was a key scorer for the Blue Devils before graduating in June 2016. The speedy and agile Baade tallied seven goals and an assist as a ninth grader.
The roster also included Sana Amin, Ella Kamenstein, Alondra Landa Cruz, Renee McKean, Gabriella Miller, Jillian Panos and Neha Rathore Analisse Batista, Jesus Bonilla, Yensi Cruz Ortiz, Makaylah Frazier, Evelyn Henriquez, Flor Lopez and Amanda Fuentes-Reyes.
