Blue Devils Reap Post-Season Awards

The Huntington varsity girls’ lacrosse team wrapped up its season at the Suffolk awards dinner at East Wind Caterers in Wading River with every Blue Devil starter garnering an award.

Huntington compiled an 18-3 overall record and won the county and Long Island championships. The team finally fell in the state quarterfinals, dropping an 11-9 verdict to eventual state runner-up Suffern

Blue Devil greats Sabrina Boyle, Devon St. John, Jolie Weinschreider, Ava McDonald and Grace Gordon were named All-County. Bridget Callery, Juliet Johnson, Isabella Palacios and Cameron Smith were tapped as All-Division. Madyn Kalb was the Rookie of the Year. Leighton Evans was the team’s Unsung Hero Award recipient. Valentina Puccio, Kyra Larsen, Jenna Italiano and Kalb were chosen as All-Tournament after great performances in the county playoffs.

The top offensive statistics were posted by:

• Sabrina Boyle (senior) Midfield/Attack/Draw: 48 goals, 16 assists, 95 draw controls

• Devon St. John (senior) Midfield/Attack: 20 goals, 8 assists

• Jolie Weinschreider (junior) Midfield/Attack/Draw: 45 goals, 19 assists, 75 draw controls

• Grace Gordon (junior) Midfield/Attack: 38 goals, 24 assists

• Valentina Puccio (junior) Midfield/Attack: 38 goals, 10 assists

• Bridget Callery (junior) Midfield/Attack: 18 goals, 12 assists

• Jenna Italiano (senior) Midfield/Attack: 12 goals, 5 assists

Huntington’s starting defensive corps included sophomores Ava McDonald, Leighton Evans and Madyn Kalb and juniors Kyra Larsen, Isabella Palacios and Cameron Smith. Freshman goalie Juliet Johnson recorded 89 saves.

The Blue Devils were coached by Katie Reilly, Lauren Blackburn and Chris Taylor and volunteer assistant Samantha Lynch, a former Blue Devil and Notre Dame star, who almost immediately after the season finale began a four year medical residency in Florida.

Here’s snapshot comments about the top players from Coach Reilly:

• Sabrina Boyle was a master of the draw this year and us having possession for many of the games is attributed to her knack for the draw; she did it better than any other player in Suffolk County. She (and Jolie Weinschreider) were our top point scorers and her ability to attack and score righty and lefty so smoothly was an essential part of the team’s success. She was a huge scorer and facilitator on our man up offense which was so important for winning some of those bigger games.

• Devon St. John was a spark for our team with her fight and passion. She was on the draw circle and would often battle with the other team's top players for the 50/50 balls. She had huge momentum goals in our close regular season and championship games and assisted Jenna Italiano in the OT winner for the county title.

• Jolie Weinschreider has a range of dodges that left so many teams confused. She and Sabrina Boyle together were a dynamic scoring duo that many teams could not handle. Jolie’s stickwork and ability to finish the ball is among the top in the county which resulted in her being face guarded in many games including our final game against a really strong Suffern team.

• Grace Gordon is one of the hardest working players I have ever coached. Every single game she gave it her all and she absolutely tore up other teams’ zones. Grace’s has amazing vision across the field and her unselfishness was reflected in having the most assists (24) on the team.

• Ava McDonald was a rock on defense. She caused turnovers, had interceptions and was exceptional at clearing the ball. In huddles, she was a major voice, empowering and inspiring the team and her toughness and ability to defend the top players on the other team kept us in so many games.

• Bridget Callery has lightning footwork and when it was her time to shake and bake she did it beautifully. She is our calm, yet speedy offensive player and when she scored, it was always a thing of beauty.

• Valentina Puccio, who came back to Huntington this year from Kellenberg, is a strong, gritty and passionate player. She played strong all season and really shined in the post-season as one of the best players out on the field. She had seven points in the first playoff game against Pat-Med and scored the game winner in OT against Northport to send us to the county title game. This team is so fortunate to have her as a Blue Devil.

• Juliet Johnson improved tremendously this season and came up with huge saves in moments when other teams got through our defense. Not only did she make saves, but she came up with multiple interceptions in games including three against the top seed Commack. She was truly exceptional.

• Izzy Palacios was absolutely fearless out there this season. She had knock downs, she had ground balls and she really sacrificed with bruises and bumps all in an effort to safely deliver the ball to the attack.

• Leigh Evans was our unsung hero because she just did everything right. She would go into 5/6 person pile ups for ground balls and come running out with the ball safely like a true hero. She was the missing piece to our defense and really completed the unit this year.

• Cameron Smith was tasked with putting pressure on the girls at the top of the 12-meter circle and every game stood tall defending some of the best players. That position is so tiring and she excelled at it all season, coming up with interceptions and huge checks that led us to scoring in transition.

• Madyn Kalb received all-rookie this year because of her instant impact. She, too, had a tough job of pressuring other teams all game, and although it was tiring, her stamina and agility made it look easy (which it definitely was not). She absolutely crushed it this season.

Huntington gave its fans so much to cheer, including a multiple wins over Northport and Ward Melville with three of the four coming in overtime. A 12-8 victory over two-time defending champion Massapequa in the Long Island Championship game. Big wins also came against Commack, William Floyd, Connetquot and Patchogue-Medford.

“This team was so much fun to coach,” Reilly said. “They have so much personality as individuals and when it came time to the game they gave it 110 percent. We've said this so often, but this team wore the motto ‘bet on us’ on their shirts this year. Last year, the commentators bet against us saying that Northport would take us down. This team showed everyone what it means to bet on yourself; to know what you have and to work tirelessly to achieve the unthinkable. They should be so proud of themselves for not only winning in the face of adversity, but for bringing the community together in once again betting on Huntington all the way.”

Almost the entire starting lineup will return next spring, including Jolie Weinschreider, Grace Gordon, Bridget Callery, Valentina Puccio, Ava McDonald, Kyra Larsen, Leighton Evans, Isabella Palacios, Cameron Smith, Madyn Kalb and Juliet Johnson.

With many talented varsity reserves ready to assume starting roles and with an impressive corps of junior varsity players, the Blue Devils are expecting to field a strong team again in 2026.