Huntington had chances; oh, it had chances. But, Northport boys’ lacrosse goalie Luke Lamendola foiled the Blue Devils 16 times to lift the Tigers to a 12-6 Suffolk Division I semifinal victory on Thursday before a crowd of 750.
Huntington took an early 1-0 lead, but Northport quickly rallied and the Tigers led at halftime, 5-1. The Blue Devils (12-5) eventually pulled to within 7-4, but couldn’t get any closer. Lamendola made save after save, some in spectacular fashion to keep Northport (17-1) in front.
Huntington scored early, but Northport quickly rallied. (Darin Reed photo.)
With a cool wind blowing throughout the game, Huntington played its heart out. But in Northport, the Blue Devils were facing one of the top teams in the country.
Huntington senior Aidan McNulty played a great game, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist. Anthony Annunziata, Liam Lennon, Jack O’Brien and Robbie Smith also scored goals in the game.
Huntington goalie Sammy Mac Arner had the unenviable task of trying to stop Northport’s scorching offense and the junior did a commendable job, recording eight saves.
But the Blue Devils needed to both play a perfect game and to get help from the Tigers, neither of which happened. Yet Huntington did play well; good enough to get off 22 shots on goal, six of which found their way to the back of the cage and the other 16 that Lamendola stopped.
When it was all over, Huntington head coach Julian Watts gave his team a pep talk on the field. He told them they played well against a very tough opponent; that the Blue Devils made Northport earn the win every step of the way.
There were some tears and some players were noticeably upset, but together as a group the Huntington players were confident they had given their full effort and were proud. The team enjoyed a great season, including winning a playoff game for the first time in nine years.
“It was a good year,” Lennon said. “We had our ups and downs as a team, but we always had each other’s backs. We didn’t get the outcome we hoped for at Northport, but we were able to accomplish something that hadn’t been done since 2013. I think that had to do with how close we all were off the field. A family.”