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Freshman attacker scores lucky seven for Northport

by Steven Zaitz - April 21, 2023

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Fabulous freshman attacker Kate Atkinson had an astonishing seven goals for Northport as the Lady Tigers beat the Smithtown East Lady Bulls, 17-11, on Tuesday.

Northport continues its undefeated season and moves to 7-0 and has won 61 of its last 62 games dating back to 2019. The only blight on this record is a loss to Baldwinsville in the New York State Championship final last June. Smithtown East falls to 4-2.

Northport spotted East the first goal of the game, and the Lady Bulls controlled the ball for a large portion of the opening five minutes. Jenna Mehlinger scored at 19:32.

The Lady Tigers got in gear after Mehlinger’s goal and reeled off the next seven in a 13-minute span, three of which coming off the stick of Atkinson. Northport took a commanding 10-3 into the half.

The two teams traded goals in the second half, and the Bulls outscored the Tigers 8-7 in the second session, but it was not nearly enough. Kennedy Radziul had three goals, and Haleigh Greenberg and Grace McCarthy had two each. Goalkeeper Megan Morris had six saves.

Ava Aceri had five goals for Smithtown East, all of them coming after halftime. She also assisted on a goal by Jenna Soto, who had a pair of goals. Mehlinger totaled three goals and an assist as beleaguered Bulls netminder, Grace McDonald, faced 24 shots on the afternoon, stopping seven of them.

Northport has a non-league match coming up on April 22 against Westchester County’s Fox Lane High School, and Smithtown East will suit up next against Sachem East on April 20.

— Photos by Steven Zaitz

Lady Eagles remain unbeaten, beat Northport 21-0

by Steven Zaitz - April 20, 2023

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The Hauppauge girls flag football team remained undefeated after shutting out the Northport Lady Tigers on Monday, 21-0.

They are now 6-0 in their maiden season, have the most wins on all of Long Island, and are 5-0 in League I play. Northport, who had their three-game winning streak snapped, falls to 3-2.

Hauppauge freshman quarterback Taylor Mileti was 9 for 13 and tossed two touchdowns passes. She played well in all three phases of the game, collecting 10 flag pulls on defense, had two interceptions and punted the ball effectively on special teams. One of her punts was downed at the Northport one-yard line and on the next play from scrimmage, Hauppauge was able to force a Lady Tiger safety for two points. Eagle receiver Melissa O’Connor had seven receptions for 46 yards, and H Back Meredith Terracciano had caught a 40-yard TD bomb from Mileti in the first half.

Northport Freshman quarterback Grace Gilmartin had a much rougher day as she threw six interceptions, the last of which was returned for a touchdown at the final gun by Francesca Gatien. Gilmartin was pressured by a relentless Lady Eagle pass rush that was aided and abetted by an injury to Northport center Isabella Bica. Northport’s replacement centers were having trouble snapping the ball back to Gilmartin with sufficient velocity, and she was forced to scramble and hurry her throws. In Northport’s two losses this year, they have committed a combined 10 turnovers.

Despite giving the six turnovers, Northport’s defense was responsible for 12 of Hauppauge’s points as Tiger defensive linemates Kenzie Bliven and Caroline Bender combined for 14 flag pulls — five of which were behind the line of scrimmage.

Hauppauge tried to roll a lucky seven in a row when they traveled to Huntington on Wednesday. Results were not available at press time. Northport will look to get back on the winning track on the road at Lindenhurst on Friday, April 21.

— Photos by Steven Zaitz

St. James-Smithtown Little League Opening Day launched with community parade, celebration

by Steven Zaitz - April 20, 2023

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All photos by Steven Zaitz

The late Brooklyn Dodger great Jackie Robinson once said that a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.

It was only fitting that the St. James-Smithtown Little League Opening Day parade and celebration coincided with Major League Baseball’s annual day of recognition of Robinson.

Over 1,000 players, coaches, parents, and baseball fans marched and lined the sidewalks of Woodlawn Avenue west to Gaynor Park in St. James on Saturday as the league marks its 66th year of little league competition — and the impact of this celebration of baseball’s return to Smithtown could be measured by the smiles of everyone who was there.

The 11 and Under Girls Softball team, who won the New York State Championship in July of 2022, rode in the Fighting Two Fire Engine of the St. James Fire Department, which led the parade west on Woodlawn to the new artificial turf field at Gaynor. The champs were honored lavishly throughout the day. Five hundred other players and coaches followed them, dressed in full uniforms, all carrying decorative team banners with one hand and waving to adoring onlookers with the other.

This trip down Smithown’s version of the Canyon of Heroes was the thrill of a lifetime for the girls.

“The fire truck arrived and one of the firefighters asked the girls to enter, the shocked look on their faces said it all,” said Coach Sean Singh, who piloted the team to glory. “As the fire truck slowly drove along the parade route, they quickly realized that the cheering from friends, family and community was all for them! Having so many people come down to personally congratulate the young ladies was such an honor and their success spoke volumes to the quality of programs Smithtown provides such as our Little League program, along with the opportunities we can provide for our younger athletes.”

Singh’s daughter, Jiselle, plays shortstop for the team.

“Riding in that fire truck was so cool,” Jiselle said. “When I heard the cheering and knew it was for us, I almost cried.”

Tears of joy and laughter were de rigueur on this day, as hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn and soft drinks were available to all at no cost. League sponsors pitched tents along the foul line of Gaynor Field 3 to ply their wares and dole out raffle tickets, most to kids who didn’t know or care what the prizes were. Two giant, rainbow-colored bouncy houses rollicked behind the centerfield fence, as the rain that had been predicted earlier in the week for this day, exercised a reasonable restraint.

SJSLL Board Member and Co-Softball Coach Peter Russo welcomed the crowd and then league President and Master of Ceremonies Richard Tomitz introduced the girls individually in his customary carnival barker style.

“This is a great day and great celebration of our league, our town and our State Championship girls,” said Tomitz. “It is the first time we are able to have this party on the new turf field here at Gaynor and I’m happy the rain held off and everyone is able to have a wonderful time and stay mostly dry.”

Tomitz then brought Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim to the podium and he, along with Councilman Tom Lohmann, who played in SJSLL in the late 1960s, threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the season to softballers Gabrielle Krayewski and Riley Connelly. Players and coaches formed a semi-circle around the two politicians as parents and fans cheered from the bleachers.

Wehrheim also gave his congratulatory remarks to the softball champs, the league and spoke glowingly about the project team who helped to complete the turf field. This improvement was the clincher that enabled St. James-Smithtown to acquire the hosting rights to the New York State Championship later in the summer.

“This is an amazing group of girls, and they represented this town with class and excellence,” Wehrheim told the crowd. “This new field surface and improved grounds project was truly a team effort with the league, town hall and the community and is a great example of your tax dollars working for Smithtown.”

Lucas Neems, who is six years old, is not yet focused on a championship, but was nevertheless having the time of his life.

“I loved marching with my new baseball friends,” said Lucas, who plays on Pietro’s Sandlot Scrappers. “I also loved the chocolate ice cream and the pretzels.”

When the ceremony was over and most of the crowd took to the free food, it was time to play ball for a select few. On the main diamond, Singh, Russo, Eric Hanson and Mark Sciortino shared coaching duties for a mixture of girls in blue and red, while minor league boys kicked off the baseball season on Gaynor Field Two. Later on, the 12-year-old boys, the oldest group in the league, played a game on the new turf. This ballgame closed out the party, as sponsors, food vendors and face-painters folded up their tents.

“It was a great time,” Tomitz said. “We had competitive baseball and softball, everybody seemed to have fun, and I’m happy the girls got the recognition and kudos that they deserve. If they win again this year on our home turf, I hope Supervisor Wehrheim gives them one of those giant keys to the city.”

For more photos, visit tbrnewsmedia.com.

Northport Tigers baseball team gets one hit; drops rubber game to West Islip

by Steven Zaitz - April 12, 2023

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April is known to be a month when pitchers are ahead of the hitters — but this is getting ridiculous.

The Northport Tigers baseball team was shutout on only one hit on Saturday, 2-0 against West Islip to wrap up a three-game set. Also wrapped up are the Tiger bats, as Lions right-handed pitcher Evan Byrnes pitched the complete game one-hitter and struck out nine. Northport was held hitless through five in their opener against West Islip righty Chris Lospinuso, and they have scored only seven runs in the first three games thus far, losing two of three to West Islip to start the season.

Northport’s lone hit against Byrnes might well have even been a gift from the official scorer, as West Islip right fielder Erick Burciaga was unable to grab Dominick Tetta’s pop fly behind the first base bag in the third inning.

Burciaga raced about 40 yards towards the right field foul line and lunged for the ball, but he closed his glove a split second too early and the ball fell to the grass. Despite the long run, he feels he should have made the catch.

“I should have had it and I wish they ruled that an error,” Burciaga said, “I apologized to Byrnesie because I felt bad, but he was very nice about it. He cared more about winning the game.”

Byrnes still took the opportunity to needle his teammate.

“I told him on the bus the bus ride that he ruined my no-hitter, but he knew I was kidding,” said Byrnes, who is only a sophomore. “In truth, I wasn’t even expecting him to get near that ball. It would have an incredible play.”

Though Byrnes was dominant, West Islip’s offense didn’t exactly burn up the basepaths in this series either, as the Tigers actually outscored them 7-6 in the three games. Northport won the middle game 6-2, but the Lion offense mustered enough to take two of three, as Lospinuso and Byrnes held them in check, allowing only one run in 14 innings.

The Tiger strung together an effective bullpen game as righties Mike Lombardo, Liam Ryan and Ty D’Amico combined to give up only one earned run. On this day against Byrnes, who improves to 2-0 in 2023 and hasn’t allowed a run in 11 innings, it was one too many.

“West Islip has a great pitching staff and it seems like they do every year,” said Northport head coach Sean Lynch. “In both of the losses, we were in the game until the end, but they found away to scratch out runs when they needed to and we didn’t. It’s as simple as that.”

Tiger shortstop Owen Johansen hit a long drive to right after Tetta reached base with his hit, but Burciaga was able to make the catch steps in front of the fence. That’s the closest Northport was to scoring a runoff of Byrnes.

“I have a feeling he (Byrnes) is going to be one of the toughest guys we face this year,” Lynch said. “I’m hoping our bats start to come alive as the weather gets warmer and we get used to facing live pitching.”

Byrnes was honored by Lynch’s assessment of his performance.

“It’s definitely one of the greatest feelings in the world to have that type of respect from the coach of a top team like Northport,” Byrnes said. “They have a tough lineup with a bunch of guys who can change a close game with one swing, so I’m glad we were able to finish the series with a win.”

Northport will need to string together a few good swings, starting with their three-game set against Half Hollow Hills East that kicked off on Tuesday.

Northport Tigers girls lacrosse team rolling right along

by Steven Zaitz - April 12, 2023

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The Northport Lady Tiger lacrosse team continues to put up football-like numbers on the scoreboard, as they steamroll over all comers thus far, two weeks into the 2023 young season.

Northport’s latest road apple were visitors from Nassau County, the Long Beach Lady Bulldogs. The final score was 17-7. The Lady Tigers have outscored their opponents 65-23 in four games this year, all easy wins, and look every bit the team that won the Long Island Championship last year, despite graduating a minibus-load of 2022 All-American and All-State caliber players.

Junior Attacker Julia Huxtable had three goals and four assists and was orchestrating the offense masterfully from behind the net, as she and her teammates circled around hapless Long Beach goalkeeper Emily Backlin like a swarm of hungry buzzards. Versatile attacker/defender Kennedy Radziul was constantly moving without the ball to find cracks in the Bulldog defense, and she scored four goals and had two assists. Radziul also shared faceoff duties with Grace McCarthy and the duo won 61% at the X. Senior Sniper Haleigh Greenberg had three goals and two assists and despite losing highly prolific players like Kaylie Mackiewicz (All-American), Ella Cabrera (All-American), Isabella Germani (All-American) and Shannon Smith (All-New York State), who combined for 204 goals last year, she is loving the chemistry of this 2023 version of the team.

“Northport has always been lucky to find girls who can play well and score year after year,” Greenberg said. “Even with those All-Americans having graduated, we know how to play as a team, and with everyone contributing the way they are, it makes us such a strong team.”

Northport was strong in this one, right from the opening whistle as Greenberg and Huxtable combined for five big ones in the first nine minutes as the Lady Tigers took a 10-4 lead into halftime. Radziul netted the last two of those ten.

On the other end, Northport goalkeeper Meghan Morris stood tall in net, making a number of acrobatic saves to frustrate Long Beach when they were able to penetrate in deep. However, the Lady Tiger defense was stingy in granting this access as back-liners Casey Koenig, Mary Breckling, Leah Riccardi and Haleigh’s sister Emma, a freshman, kept Bulldog scoring chances to a minimum, hound-dogging Long Beach into a multitude of turnovers and subsequent ground ball recoveries for Northport.

“Our defense is strong and physical, and we’re able to get a lot of the loose balls,” Emma Greenberg said, “When a ball hits the ground, it’s really just a matter of who wants it more and a defensive unit, we pride ourselves on getting those balls.”

Northport won 69% of the ground balls on Saturday, and they have hovered around that number all year so far.

The second half of the game more of the same with Northport holding leads of eight, nine or 10 for much of the game. Radziul scored two early in the second half, and junior midfielder Christina Lauro scored on her birthday to make the score 16-6 with just over six minutes remaining in the game. Haleigh Greenberg closed out the scoring for the Lady Tigers with a minute to go, as Huxtable assisted.

“Hux is a great player, and she has great field vision and instincts,” Haleigh said. “She is such a good player, one of the best teammates I’ve ever had and something about her as a person, that when she scores or makes a great play, it gives the whole team a boost of energy. She just has that way about her and we love her for it.”

Huxtable is humbled by this.

“It feels amazing to know my teammates think of me in this way,” said the junior Huxtable, who has 69 career points in two-plus season as a Lady Tiger. “I’m always working hard to be the best teammate that I can possibly be, and I’m glad that I can make a positive impact on and off the field.”

Northport Tigers lose to Lions in nine innings on Opening Day

by Steven Zaitz - April 8, 2023

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Zeros filled the scoreboard on Opening Day at John DeMartini Baseball Field in Northport on Monday afternoon.

West Islip righthander Chris Lospinuso had a no-hitter through five innings and despite having traffic in almost every inning, Northport’s sophomore lefty Max Donecea had managed to keep the Lions off the scoreboard through six.

Something had to give.

When Northport Tiger senior catcher, lead-off hitter and captain John Dwyer strode up to the plate in bottom of the sixth inning and not only broke up the no hit bid but put the Tigers ahead 1-0 with a 362-foot home run over the left center field fence, it gave.

Lospinuso had finally blinked, and Donecea wanted nothing more than to slam the door shut in the top of the inning. He could not.

Lion centerfielder Sean Boyle led off the seventh with a clean single, was sacrificed to second and scored on a suicide squeeze executed perfectly by left fielder Erick Burciaga. The game was tied at one.

“That squeeze was a little surprising in the moment and I should have anticipated it,” Dwyer said. “Either way, they executed the play and it’s a tough play to defend if done right.”

Donecea was now out of the game and replaced on the mound by Owen Johansen, who has returned to the diamond after a year on the lacrosse team and a broken ankle during the football season. Johansen, who started the game at shortstop, pitched a scoreless eighth inning and gave his team a chance to earn a memorable, walk-off win on Opening Day.

They were 90 feet from doing so.

Dwyer was hit by a pitch, Johansen and LF Michael Lombardo singled, and Northport had the bases loaded and nobody out. But with Dwyer dancing off third, ready to score the winning run, West Islip reliever Frank Romano induced a popup and struck out two to escape the jam.

In his second inning of work, Johansen allowed a walk, threw a wild pitch and then gave up an RBI single to Burciaga. After being in line for the win, Johansen took the hard-luck loss.

“West Islip is one of the best teams in the county and this year is no different,” said Northport Head Baseball Coach Sean Lynch. “It was very frustrating not to get that run to win the game, especially with the way Max threw the ball today. He pitched a great game.”

“I would have loved to finish the game,” said Donecea, who gave up five hits, four walks and struck out seven. “I felt like my control could have been a little better, but overall, I think I pitched well.”

Also pitching well was Lospinuso, who struck out 11. But he lamented the one mistake that cost him his no-no.

“I left a splitter up to that kid [Dwyer] and he took advantage of it,” said Lospinuso. “Other than that, all three of my pitches were working well today. I was able to keep them off-balance with four seam fastball, splitter and curve.”

Northport was able to balance their record on Tuesday by beating the Lions in West Islip. Aiden Bisson got the win for the Tigers in their 6-2 victory. The rubber match will be played on April 8 at Northport.

Northport flag football team starts inaugural season by getting routed 33-6

by Steven Zaitz - April 7, 2023

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The Northport Lady Tiger flag football team was scheduled to start their maiden season this past Saturday against Center Moriches. That game, however, was postponed due to inclement weather.

When the season started two days later, on Monday vs. Half Hollow Hills, they received no clemency even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, getting drubbed by the Lady Thunderbirds, 33-6.

Not exactly an auspicious start to this historic campaign, the Lady Tigers had a few factors heavily working against them. Their top two quarterbacks, Grace Gilmartin and Pixie Ryan, took an untimely school trip to Iceland leaving the offense to juniors Megan Brustmeyer and Allie Murdock, neither of whom were able to move the ball with any consistency, combining to throw four interceptions on the day. Two of these were returned for touchdowns for the Lady Birds.

Northport was playing a new sport for the very first time and it showed. They were penalized for illegal procedure before their very first offensive snap, and this was a sufficient enough indicator of what was to come for a bulk of the afternoon. In another sequence, they needed just two yards to gain a first down with four chances to get it. They gained just one yard.

“We need to learn how to hit the hole and run north and south,” said Tiger Head Coach Pat Campbell, who is unaccustomed to losing games by four touchdowns. “We tried to run outside on them, and their defense has a lot of speed. We will work on this over the next few practices.”

Half Hollow Hills, on the other hand, was playing in their fourth game and looked very well-oiled. Freshman quarterback Samantha Heyman played like a season veteran, deftly mixing in runs and passes showing great skills in handling the ball and finding open receivers. The Hills offense exuded professionalism and even took to some razzle-dazzle scoring the first touchdown of the game on a 35-yard double-reverse pass that caught the entirety of the Tiger defense out of position.

“The score looks pretty bad, but I thought we did some things well,” Campbell said. “No matter what kind of football you are playing, one thing always is true — you can’t turn the ball over and expect to win.”

The game was competitive for a good chunk of the first half and tied the score with a long TD reception by junior Kenzie Bliven. She was able to sneak past cornerback Rose Azmoudah down the right sideline and race 45 yards to tie the score at 6-6.

But with less than a minute remaining in the half Brustmeyer underthrew Bliven on the same route and this time defender Jolie Boyle would intercept it and bring it back to the Tiger 10-yard line. Hills punched it in with 20 seconds to take a 12-6 lead at the break.

T’Bird senior middle linebacker Jahniya McCreary would intercept two passes and return one of them for a touchdown in the second half. She would also catch two touchdown passes from Heyman as did wide receiver Olivia Hamilton.

“Jahniya is the heart and soul of defense and she was amazing today,” said Hills Head Coach Michael Lupa. “She makes all the calls and reads and anticipates so well. It makes it tough on the opposing offense.”

“We really have a passion for this sport, and we really play well as a team,” McCreary said. “We come out here expecting to win.”

And all of this winning is being led by the ninth grader Heyman, who was eight for 18 for 155 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. She also had 81 yards on the ground.

“Sammy can really throw the ball,” Lupa said. “She also knows when to tuck it in a run. She’s really impressed me with her decision making so far.”

“I’ve been playing football since elementary school,” said Heyman. “I look for an open receiver and if there are none, I’ll take what I can get by running.”

So far, the Thunderbirds are running the table with their perfect 4-0 record and are looking for more when they travel to Connetquot on April 11. Northport took on Lindenhurst April 5 but results were unavailable at press time.

Hauppauge Eagles flag football ready to fly

by Steven Zaitz - March 30, 2023

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The Hauppauge Lady Eagles Flag Football opened their regular season on Wednesday, March 29, but not before they had a rainy scrimmage against Sachem North on Monday, March 27.

Hauppauge is led by Steve Mileti, who is the boys head football coach for the storied West Islip Lions. They dominated this scrimmage, scoring numerous touchdowns and enjoying long gains, all the while not allowing the Flaming Arrows much of anything on this cold, damp afternoon.

Hauppauge running back Meredith Terracciano had a long touchdown gallop, and wide receiver Sarah Dukofsky caught a bomb from quarterback Taylor Mileti, the coach’s daughter, for another score. Sachem never managed to reach the end zone.

Hauppauge’s season started officially Wednesday evening on the road vs. Harborfields. The result was unavailable at press time.

First League Win for Tiger lax team

by Steven Zaitz - March 30, 2023

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The Long Island Champion Northport Tiger boys lacrosse program notched its first league win,
outlasting Bay Shore, 13-11, on March 28.

Junior Timothy McLam had four goals and an assist, and sophomore Jack Deliberti added three goals. Both are attackers. Senior long pole Andrew Miller controlled both ends of the field admirably, and he had two goals and assist and his teammate on the football team, senior midfielder Macklin O’Brien,was omnipresent
with two goals and three assists.

Goalkeeper Michael Tittman, who is the younger brother of 2021 Tiger goalkeeper and Long Island
champion Andrew Tittman, recorded six saves and was active in orchestrating his men around the cage, as
his brother was. He made several key saves early on, as the Tigers raced out to 7-2 lead by halftime.

But the Marauders hung tough, scoring four goals in a five-minute span in the third quarter and in doing so,
slicing the Tiger lead to 10-7.

But O’Brien scored off a nifty pass from Miller with less than a minute to go in the third to restore a four
goal lead for Northport.

Bay Shore Attacker Peter Urso would score two goals in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough, as
Northport held on to win by two. Tiger face-off specialist Dylan Baumgarth won 14 out of 22 at the ‘X’,
as he has big shoes to fill in that area with the graduation of two-time Long Island Finals M.V.P. Tyler
Kuprianchick. A 64%-win rate is a great place to start for Baumgarth.

Northport is now 2-0 overall and takes on Sachem North on the road on Friday, March 31. Bay Shore is 1-2 and will face Lindenhurst also on Friday.

Northport Tigers get ready for opener

by Steven Zaitz - March 28, 2023

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The Northport Tigers baseball team scrimmaged against the Walt Whitman Wildcats on Friday, March 24, at the John DeMartini Baseball Complex at Northport High School.

The game was unscored as the Tigers continued to tune up their pitchers as they steam toward Opening Day for league play, which will be at home against West Islip on April 3.

Aiden Bisson, a senior and the ace of the staff in 2022, pitched three innings and gave up four runs but they were unearned. Senior pitchers Jayden Paranandi and Tyler Mulligan also got work in and were effective.

Senior outfielder Stephen Blazevich smacked a three-run homer over the left-center field fence in the fourth inning, when the Tiger scored four runs.

The Tigers played to a 0-0 tie in their final tune-up against St. John’s the Baptist High School in West Islip on Tuesday. Max Donecea and Bisson held the Cougars scoreless. The Tiger starting pitcher for the opener is yet to be determined.

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Steven Zaitz

Freshman attacker scores lucky seven for Northport

Lady Eagles remain unbeaten, beat Northport 21-0

St. James-Smithtown Little League Opening Day launched with community parade, celebration

Northport Tigers baseball team gets one hit; drops rubber game to West Islip

Northport Tigers girls lacrosse team rolling right along

Northport Tigers lose to Lions in nine innings on Opening Day

Northport flag football team starts inaugural season by getting routed 33-6

Hauppauge Eagles flag football ready to fly

First League Win for Tiger lax team

Northport Tigers get ready for opener

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