Blue Devil Girls’ Soccer Locks up Playoff Appearance
With its back up against the proverbial wall, the Huntington girls’ soccer team came-from-behind to tie tough Sayville in the last regular season game and gain a berth in post-season play. The contest was played before a spirited home crowd at Blue Devil Stadium and fans held their breath during most of what turned out to be a tense afternoon.
Trailing 1-0, senior Cecilia Reyes blasted a 25-yard kick into the goal off a clear to knot the score. The Blue Devil defense then closed down the Golden Flashes in the final minutes, including a spectacular blocked shot by sophomore Meredith McCourt. Huntington (5-5-2, 5-8-2) sophomore goalie Lori Messina recorded seven saves. Earlier in the season Sayville had defeated Huntington, 3-0.
The Blue Devils were definitely ready for a difficult battle this time around and played well in the first half, surrendering the lone Sayville (7-3-2, 9-3-2) goal with less than a minute left on the clock. Huntington head coach John Walsh and his assistant, Karen Fischer, used every motivational phrase in the book to get their players through the game and into the playoffs. The pair’s efforts worked.
Following the game, Huntington was seeded seventh in the Suffolk Class A tournament. (Sayville picked up the third seed.) Walsh hopes the team can get hot at just the right time.
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