Katie Reilly Paces Blue Devils in Thriller
After missing the first seven games of the season recovering from knee surgery, Katie Reilly returned with a vengeance on Monday afternoon.
The Princeton bound Huntington High School senior showed why she is regarded as one of the premier playmakers in the country, assisting on a goal with 1.6 seconds remaining in the first half and then again on the game winner with 23.4 seconds left on the clock. Reilly found Emma Greenhill open and the sophomore put the ball in the back of the cage to give the Blue Devils a much needed 9-8 victory over visiting Hauppauge.
Huntington lost six of its first seven games, stung by a long list of injuries to many of its stars, including Reilly. Several of its top players won’t be returning to the field this season, but with Reilly back in the fold the Blue Devils look like a different team already.
Leading 7-2 at halftime, Huntington’s confidence seemed to disappear in the second half as Hauppauge went on a 6-1 run to tie the game with less than a minute remaining. When Reilly finally broke free from the suffocating defense that had engulfed her for much of the final 25 minutes, the Eagles knew what was coming next. The teenager found Greenhill who fired a hard shot past goalie Victoria Arancio for what proved to be the game winner.
“I am so proud of the team for pulling through for this win,” Reilly said. “After a drought, we needed this to keep our spirits alive. The best part is that Emma Greenhill was sick and still managed to put it in the back of the net for the win. Let’s hope we continue on the upswing.”
Huntington coaches Jessica Maggio and Beth Vogelsang knew their team need a victory badly and so did the team’s players. Against Hauppauge, the Blue Devils faced a talented team with very good coaching, which made for a challenging afternoon.
“Everyone stepped it up today,” said Brown bound senior Emma DeGennaro, who scored four goals for Huntington and now has 30 goals and 11 assists this spring. “Even though the score might not reflect it, we dominated most of the game and made some really good plays. This win should put us in the right direction for turning our season around and really playing how I know we all can.”
Greenhill had two goals and Megan McDevitt added a goal and an assist for the Blue Devils. Isabella Annunziata and Emma Petrizzi also scored goals. Amber Stieve had an assist. Allison Berejka recorded eight saves in goal.
Hauppauge got five goals from Katie Murphy. Kaitlin Cronin, Gabby Savarino and Shannon Tuozzo also scored. Kayla Petrie had an assist. Arancio stopped six shots in the net.
“Overall, it was a really strong effort by everyone and I’m excited to have a solid win under our belt,” Huntington junior Ryann Gaffney said. “I feel confident this win will set us on a positive track and I look forward to the rest of the season.”
Brianna McDonald, Hailey Bengston, Noelle Harvey, Tara Wilson, Gaffney, Reilly, Petrizzi and Stieve all contributed to Huntington’s defense, providing a ring around Berejka and stopping many Hauppauge drives before they reached the cage.
“Today everyone had a great game both defensively and offensively,” McDonald said. “Offense began to slow it down, which allowed us to settle the ball, while defense had great timed slides allowing us to help out our goalie. Our goalie had an amazing game today with both her saves and clears. It was also a big help having Katie Reilly back, which also helped bring our team together. This game will hopefully push us into the right direction throughout the rest of our season.”
The Blue Devils are ready to put their early season struggles behind them. “This was a big win for us,” said High Point bound senior Irina DeSimone. “We had a rough start to the season but we’ve really worked hard and today’s game showed it. We really worked as a team and this game proved we can go far with our talents.”