The Huntington High School varsity field hockey team is looking ahead toward the future. The Blue Devils are graduating seven seniors, but hope current underclassmen and the top junior varsity players step in and fill all the holes left behind.
Six players from this year’s team claimed post-season honors for Huntington. The group includes Julie Rogel (All-Classification Goalie Award), Grace Agrillo (All-County Honorable Mention), Tessie Maerz (All-Division), Gemma Cartwright (All-Classification), Tess Stanley (All-Division) and Riley Zink (Unsung Hero Award). Blue Devil head coach Kathleen Wright was named the Suffolk Coach of the Year.
Agrillo, Maerz and Cartwright will all be returning and turning in sensational sophomore seasons. All three teenagers play midfield.
Rogel shined in her final season in a Huntington uniform, stopping 170 shots. Stanley and Zink were both standouts on defense for the Blue Devils.
“This was a young team that played for the love of the game,” Wright said. “They played a very tough, but never were discouraged. They loved being together playing field hockey. When asked about the sport, the team’s reply was ‘We love field hockey.’”
The highlight of the season was a 1-0 victory against William Floyd in the final game on the schedule. An especially fun day for the team came when the senior captains ran a practice.
Underclassmen set to return next fall include sophomores Grace Allen, Laurel Bonn, Laura Curtin, Kaci McDonald, Erin Scanlon and Stephanie Wickey and junior Lauren Holly
“All the sophomores are returning and the ones on JV will be joining us,” Wright said. “We have a large group of juniors that will grow stronger with every game.”
