Blue Devils Rally to Top
State Ranked Bayport
In one of her last games in a Blue Devil uniform, Samantha Lynch made every minute count. The senior capped a comeback rally by scoring what proved to be the winning goal to lift the Huntington girls’ lacrosse team over state ranked Bayport-Blue Point, 9-8.
Katie Reilly put the Blue Devils on the scoreboard first when she took a pass from Lynch and sent a shot past the Phantoms exceptional goalie, Jill Rall just minutes into the game. But, Bayport-Blue Point scored three straight goals and Huntington spent most of the remainder of the game trying to catch-up.
Trailing 8-6 with 9:34 remaining, Reilly scored her second goal of the afternoon to cut the Blue Devils’ deficit to one. Irina DeSimone followed with her second goal, a bullet to the back of the net off an assist from Ryann Gaffney to tie the game and set the stage for Lynch’s heroics.
The Notre Dame bound teenager took a feed from Emma DeGennaro and put a hard shot into the net to give Huntington the lead for the first time in more than 40 minutes of play. The defense and goalie Anna Tesoriero took it from there.
“Today was an unbelievable win going into the playoffs,” said Lynch, who tallied three goals and an assist. “Emma DeGennaro made an amazing pass to set me up for the game winner. I was so excited to score at that point, but knew there was still almost three minutes left to play. The defense came through with an incredible stand and caused turnover to run out the final minutes of play. It was truly a team effort!”
Huntington (10-4) trailed at halftime, 5-3 and seemed out of sorts at times. The second half saw the Blue Devils play some of their best lacrosse of the spring, with aggressive defense and sharp passing.
“Today we started out a little flat in the first half, but once we got our game back in the second half, we played really well,” said DeGennaro who had a goal and two assists. “We figured out how to break their defense, which helped us score several goals in the second half. Defense played amazing today and stopped Bayport for the last three minutes to secure the win. We played hard until the last whistle and were so excited with the win.”
Huntington’s defense sparkled as Hailey Bengston, Cassidie Giammarino, Caitlin Knowles and Brianna McDonald challenged Bayport-Blue Point’s (12-3) talented attack and midfield players for every ball. Heather Forster was outstanding as the Blue Devils’ faceoff specialist and on defense.
The Blue Devils’ depth was never more evident as every player contributed, including Emma Greenhill, who also scored in the game. Gaffney assisted on two goals. Ohio State-bound Alyssa Amorison, who set up many of Huntington’s plays, also picked up an assist. Tesoriero, who is headed to Stony Brook, stopped 10 shots in goal. Taylor Moreno also saw a stretch of time in the Blue Devil net and recorded a pair of saves.
“This win showed heart from every single person on the team,” said Reilly, who added an assist to go with her two goals. “I can’t even say how excited I am that we won such a tight game. Although we faced some bumps in the past weeks a win like this brought the team together because in the end everyone has the same goal, to win. Irina DeSimone, Emma Greenhill and Ryann Gaffney came in clutch with ground balls, draws and just hustle plays and as a teammate that’s all I could ask for. I am so excited for the playoffs.”
Huntington coaches Kathy Wright and Molly Burnett were thrilled with their team’s performance, especially coming on Bayport-Blue Point’s home field. “It was a great Mother Day’s present,” Wright said.
Blue Devil Notes: Huntington was ranked 18th in Class B by the New York State Sportswriters Association in last week’s poll . . . A spirited crowd of Huntington fans were at the game, including 2013 Blue Devil lacrosse alum Patrick Reilly and Huntington girls’ basketball coaches Mike and Marissa Kaplan . . . Huntington assistant wrestling coach Peter Fusco was also seen in the crowd . . . Bayport-Blue Point was ranked 6th in Class C in last week’s state poll . . . The Section XI Class B playoffs are scheduled to begin this Friday.