A Season to Remember for Huntington JV Girls’ Soccer
The Huntington junior varsity girls’ soccer team learned its lessons well. The squad gained momentum as the season progressed, finishing with a 9-2 league mark (9-5 overall) and outscoring opponents 39-18, including three shutouts. The Blue Devils went 9-1 in their final 10 games.
Huntington was captained by Kelsey Iwanicki, Annie Minoff and Emily Laurie and coached by Dick Hogan. The 17-player squad developed the type of pride usually seen on varsity championship teams.
“Every girl on this year’s JV girls’ soccer team, including the bench, made major contributions at different times,” Hogan said. “They were truly a team and played that way.”
Hogan pointed to outstanding performances against Islip and Sayville as among the season’s highlights. “Any time you defeat two quality programs twice in the same season it is a huge accomplishment,” the veteran coach said. Another memorable effort came against Harborfields when the Blue Devils overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit and scored five unanswered goals in a 5-2 victory
“These girls played hard,” Hogan said. “They played smart. They played together. Several referees indicated kudos for the team’s play.”
Among the team leaders were Christina Badalamenti, Lauren Gerbavsits, Tara Narine, Emma Hayes-Hurley, Mackensie Wall and Minoff. Hogan said that Badalamenti has “great skill, great field presence” and is “technically and tactically our best player.” The coach also noted Gerbavsits’ “blinding speed” and “great skill,” and called Narine, a defensive specialist, “steady, solid and tough.”
Hayes-Hurley stood out as a solid midfielder with above average skill and good field vision. Hogan said that Minoff was also “solid, steady and disciplined and highly respected” by her teammates. In Wall, Huntington had a “superb young goalkeeper,” the coach said. She was “surprisingly good in big spots.”
All-in-all, the Blue Devils showed improvement, both individually and as team. “They developed a much broader vision of the game than the way they previously played on outside teams and were disciplined enough to work every day,” Hogan said.
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