Players Confident of Blue Devils in Playoffs

With the post-season on the horizon, the Huntington girls’ lacrosse team is looking to finish the regular season on a high note and go as far as possible in the playoffs despite fielding a very young squad. The Blue Devils are confident they can pull it off.

Huntington has won nine games. Several losses to top teams came by excruciatingly close score, including a 12-11 defeat at home against Commack and a 7-6 verdict last Friday night at William Floyd. The Blue Devils lost a wild game to first place Ward Melville, 17-12, scoring more goals against the Patriots than any other New York team this spring.

“The way we played against ward Melville and William Floyd showed that we’re right there with all of the top teams so I think we can definitely go pretty deep into playoffs,” said sophomore attack Devon St. John, who has notched 19 goals and five assists.

Huntington is responding to first year head coach Katie Reilly and her assistants, Lauren Blackburn and Christopher Taylor.

“Our coaches have done so much to create a well-rounded team and now it’s just about working extra hard at practice, starting every game fired up and keeping our momentum throughout the entire game,” St. John said.

Huntington plays at Smithtown East on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. It’s the final regular season game.

“With such a young team, I think we’re only going to keep getting better and we’ve improved so much since the beginning of the season,” St. John said. “Our goalie, Andie DiGioia is only in eighth grade and she’s been playing amazing, not to mention all the other young assets we have so it’s definitely possible to get some upset wins in playoffs.”

Reilly and the team understand they need every practice session to be such that it contributes to game day success.

“The way our team is currently looking gives me confidence that we have a chance to make a run in playoffs and get to the end,” said junior attack Kayleigh Bender, who has tallied 38 goals and 24 assists this season. “When we played the top teams in the conference we showed up and almost came out on top. We’ve been growing game after game and every day at practice, which allows me to think we can beat those teams when we see them in playoffs.”

Huntington has fielded a very young starting lineup, putting two eighth graders and four freshmen up against some of the state’s top teams.

“At this point in the season the coaches just have to continue what they’ve been doing all along and keep holding us accountable and push us to be the best we can be,” Bender said. We the players have to want it and put in the work every day with the mindset that the hard work will pay off in the end.”

The Blue Devil coaches believe the team is on the cusp of being outstanding and they believe Huntington is capable of beating anyone in the playoffs.

“Since our team is very young with eighth and ninth graders starting, in order for us to upset teams in the playoffs they have to believe in themselves and understand what they’re capable of,” Bender said. “It is totally possible to upset teams because the younger players have contributed so much throughout this season and I’m so proud of them for their growth in countless areas.”

Huntington will rely on senior captains Gianna Forte, Laurel Bonn and Grace Agrillo more than ever. The trio rarely comes off the field and each of them has given the Blue Devils everything they have this spring.

“I think that if we are clicking we can really make a run for it,” said Forte, who has compiled 31 goals and 18 assists while playing midfield. “Our league is all over the place and we have shown that we can compete with the best. I think that at this point in the season everybody has to have the mentality that nobody is better than us and we all have to buy in for the next few weeks.”

Reilly puts a premium on getting players to do all the little things right. Daily practices are patterned after those held on the college level, with obvious modifications for high school players. Has Huntington grown enough to be dangerous and a threat to the best teams in the playoff bracket?

“It is 100 percent possible,” Bender said. “I think that the young guns just need to have confidence in who they are as players. We all need to trust each other and work together to pull off some big upsets.”