Blue Devils JV Girls’ Lax is Unstoppable
The Huntington junior varsity girls’ lacrosse team was virtually unstoppable this past spring, as the Blue Devils integrated a contingent of very talented eighth graders into the line-up and battled their way to an 11-1 record.
Coached by Kathy Wright and Jillian Talleur and captained by sophomores Ally Hackett and Courtney O’Bryan, Huntington was untouchable after an early season loss to Hauppauge.
“One team, one heart,” is how Wright described the Blue Devils. “We played as a team. We were a small family out on the field, as well as one the sidelines.” Huntington outscored its opponents 162-72.
Wright said the team’s top players included eighth graders Hannah Burnett (attack), Stephanie Rafuse (attack/midfield), Natalia Chaney (attack/midfield), Alexis Thompson (attack), Katie Healy (midfield) and Ali Mehring (midfield), freshmen Danielle Cochrane (defense), Diana Harvey (defense), Jillian Kocis (defense) and Danielle Schantz (goalie).
The highlight of the season came in a 19-7 victory over Mount Sinai. “It was a very physical game,” Wright said. “We came back after the first five minutes and controlled the game. We played our game and won.”
An exceptionally strong crop of eighth graders was lifted out of J. Taylor Finley Middle School and brought up to the high school level. This group and a skilled trio of freshmen were so good that the program’s coaching staff can hardly wait for the next several years to unfold.
There’s Burnett with her strong drives to the goal, Chaney, who is great off the draw and at picking up groundballs, Rafuse, who fights straight off the draw, Cochrane and her penchant for holding the post and playing top notch defense, Mehring’s first class speed, Thompson and her ability to pull the ball out of thin air, Harvey and her double teaming, Kocis’ great timing and Healy’s transitions up-the-field.
Another strong team is forecast for next spring. At this early date it’s unknown which players will get tickets punched to the varsity level. But, Huntington’s JV depth also includes such fine players as Haley Brown, Page Bond, Emily Arciprete, Alana Alongi, Raynisha Witherspoon, Molly Arceri, Jenny Duffy, Rebecca Leach, Kari Peer, Madison Biernacki and Lizzy Saltman, according to Wright. This past year’s captains, Hackett and O’Bryan, are expected to vie for spots on the varsity.
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