Casey and Freitag Pace Blue Devil Field Hockey
It started several years ago. The Huntington High School field hockey program turned a proverbial corner and seemed to become much more competitive almost overnight. Slowly but surely the Blue Devils have developed star players and deep roster depth and today the team is respected across the county.
Could this be the year when Huntington steps into Suffolk's elite circle of field hockey teams? In sports, nothing is ever assured and that's certainly the case this season for the Blue Devils. But, they will field a very skilled and aggressive squad that seems to have the potential to go far this fall.
"My team is strong this year and has a lot of talent," said Jillian Seher, Huntington's veteran coach. The Blue Devils return seven starters from last year's squad and their roster includes a strong group of 12 juniors. "They have more experienced than this team has had in a long time," Seher said.
The Blue Devils will play a very difficult schedule, including games against such powerhouse teams as Ward Melville, Smithtown East, Northport and Sachem East. "We are always competitive with those teams, but this year I hope to come out with a few wins against them."
Captains and offensive stars Sarah Casey and Kianna Freitag are in their fourth year on the varsity. "They are intense players and will be great leaders on the field," Seher said. The defense will be paced by Colleen Wright, Sarah Kate Smith, Madison Biernacki and Samantha Palmer. Maggie Lombardo and Katherine Shirley are the team's goalies and "learning a lot in a short amount of time," according to the coach.
Sophomores Kaylyn Johnston, Katia DeSimone and Maggie Askerberg are fast learners and display exceptional stick-work as part of the offensive unit. Emily Arciprete, Kari Peer and Beth Johnson are among the players who will give the offense some "pop."
"All-in-all the team has the talent," Seher said. "It is my hope that they choose to use it this season because I predict they can go far." In the first game of the season, Huntington topped Connetquot in a non-league contest, 3-0. Arciprete, Peer and Johnson scored goals and Colleen Wright added two assists. Katherine Shirley (three) and Maggie Lombardo (two) combined to record five saves and secure the shutout.
Huntington will be participating in the "Play 4 the Cure" game at Walt Whitman High School on September 27 at 7 p.m. The nationwide initiative raises funds for breast cancer research. The Blue Devils are also organizing a car wash in early October and some bake sales to raise additional funds.