Blue Devils Resume Quest for Championship

Seeded No. 1 in Suffolk, the Huntington varsity girls’ lacrosse team returns to the quest for county, Long Island and state championships on Monday afternoon as the 2026 season officially begins after school on Alumni Field.

Last spring, Huntington compiled an 18-3 overall record and won the county and Long Island titles. The team finally fell in the state quarterfinals, dropping an 11-9 verdict to eventual state runner-up Suffern.

Most of last year’s team is returning, including All-County players Jolie Weinschreider, Ava McDonald and Grace Gordon. Also back in Blue Devil uniforms are Bridget Callery, Juliet Johnson, Isabella Palacios and Cameron Smith, who were all tapped as All-Division.

The returnees include several other key players. Madyn Kalb was the 2025 Rookie of the Year. Leighton Evans was last year’s team’s Unsung Hero Award recipient. Valentina Puccio, Kyra Larsen and Kalb were chosen as All-Tournament after great performances in the county playoffs.

The top returnees statistically are:

• Jolie Weinschreider: Midfield/Attack/Draw: 45 goals, 19 assists, 75 draw controls

• Grace Gordon: Midfield/Attack: 38 goals, 24 assists

• Valentina Puccio: Midfield/Attack: 38 goals, 10 assists

• Bridget Callery: Midfield/Attack: 18 goals, 12 assists

• Olivia Puccio: Midfield/Attack: 10 goals, 4 assists

Huntington’s starting defensive corps is also returning intact, including juniors Ava McDonald, Leighton Evans and Madyn Kalb and seniors Kyra Larsen, Isabella Palacios and Cameron Smith. Goalie Juliet Johnson recorded 89 saves as a freshman.

The Blue Devils will be coached by Megan Marinelli, Christopher Taylor and Lauren Blackburn and volunteer assistant Lauren Schwalje, who played midfield at St. Anthony’s, Georgetown University and Stony Brook University. She was an Under Armour All-American in high school.

Chiara Maimone and Cole Rudnick are the junior varsity coaches. Hildi Stanford and Sabrina Emmerich will coach the team at J. Taylor Finley Middle School.

Huntington gave its fans so much to cheer for last spring, including multiple wins over Northport and Ward Melville with three of the four coming in overtime. A 12-8 victory over two-time defending champion Massapequa in the Long Island Championship game. Big wins also came against Commack, William Floyd, Connetquot and Patchogue-Medford.

With many talented varsity reserves from last year’s team ready to assume starting roles and with an impressive corps of junior varsity players, the Blue Devils are expecting to field a strong team.