1 of 5

By Steven Zaitz

Eleven months ago, a loose ball trickled between Smithtown East superstar striker, Olivia Bozzo, and Northport goalkeeper Kaleigh Howard. At the time both teams were fighting for Suffolk County playoff position.

In an attempt to smother the ball before the hard-charging Bozzo could gain control and fire, Howard raced out her box aggressively, and dove on top of it like it was a pin-pulled hand grenade. As Howard lay on the ground Bozzo, one of the top scorers in Suffolk County in 2023, tried to pull up, but rolled into the vulnerable goalkeeper.

The home Northport fans cheered Howard’s aggressive play, which prevented a Bozzo goal, but they did not realize that Bozzo’s cleat had ripped open the skin on Howard’s scalp, causing the sophomore to gush blood. She was rushed to the emergency room where she had several sutures stapled into her head.

After the game resumed, Bozzo, then a junior, scored two goals, and the Red Bulls won 3-0.

Shocking to all, Howard was back in the nets a week later.

Shocking to none, was the sight of Howard and her numberless, aqua blue jersey standing between the pipes, when the early-morning game started in St. James, this past Saturday. 

From the looks of it, she hasn’t changed her style one bit, as Howard made 10 saves against Smithtown East, in Northport’s 1-0 victory. The Lady Tigers improved their overall record to 2-1 and 1-0 in League 4 play. Smithtown East drops to 0-2 and 0-1 in the league on the young season.

Howard, or KK, as she is known around Suffolk County athletic circles, was marauding in and out of her penalty area, cutting off attacks before they started, directing her defense and controlling the game. Throughout the game, she implored her troops to keep up their intensity.

“I want to win every game, but yeah, I wanted this one a little more,” said Howard, a junior and two-year starter.

Under chalky gray skies, Northport’s Finnley Wickard, a sophomore who is, also, a highly-decorated long-distance track star, scored the game’s only goal, and second of the season, in the sixth minute after corralling the rebound of a Charlotte Radigan free kick. Smithtown East keeper Sophia McCord made a lunging save, but batted the ball to senior captain Sammy DeNisco, who made a crisp pass to Wickard in the middle, who tapped it in.

“I was really excited when that ball went in,” said Wickard. “This was a really big game for our team, and we wanted to start off our [intraleague]season with a win, so it was great to get that early goal.”

Smithtown East, who played eventual state champion, Ward Melville, in the Suffolk County finals last year, has dropped its first two games. The first, a non-league match against Smithtown West on Sept. 5, and this game — both by a score of 1-0. Bulls Coach, Julie Hereth, who stepped away from coaching for two seasons, after having a daughter, is encouraged, despite her team’s slow start.

“I’m proud of our team,” said Hereth. “We obviously would have loved a different result, and Northport is a great team. Both teams battled hard, and we need to keep working hard, having fun and, then, find ways to finish our opportunities.

As for Bozzo, the two-time All-Suffolk performer is working her way back from two, off-season surgeries — the second of which was just two months ago — played approximately half of this game. She wasn’t thinking about any bad blood between the two teams, and is focused on her team and her recovery.

“I’m eager to play, but also a bit cautious, not wanting to push myself too hard, too soon,” said the senior and third-year captain, Bozzo. “It feels great to be back as I’m reclaiming a part of me that I had lost during the recovery, and I woudn’t want to do anything else but be back out on the field with my best friends.”

But, Bozzo made little headway against Northport on Saturday. With the defender by committee group of Radigan, Lily Nye, Ella Cancro, and Hallie Gilmartin, who was playing in place of injured star fullback Morgan Shirley, the frustration to score for Bozzo and Smithtown East simmered to a gradual crescendo throughout the match. The frustration spilled over into what became a contentious battle of both soccer and trash talk, as East became more and more desperate to equalize, and Northport determined to keep them out.

And, it was Howard who had the last say in every instance.

In the 33rd minute, the junior who also excels in lacrosse, slid out on one knee to stop senior striker Lindsay Delgado on a semi-breakaway, getting her two oversized goalkeeper gloves to stop six’s run. With nine minutes left in the game, Bulls sophomore forward, Juliana Ganderillas, gained control in Northport’s end, and moved towards Howard’s net.  With Radigan chasing Ganderillas, the keeper, again, charged out and batted the ball away, to preserve the skinny lead.  East was awarded a corner kick, and after a very uncordial jostling for position by both teams, the crosser was headed out of danger by Wickard.

“There was a lot of talk on both sides, especially in the second half,” said Howard, who notched her second consecutive shutout. “But I’m not going to change my style and I’m not afraid of someone running at me.  I play very aggressively when the situation calls for it, and try to not let anyone get behind me.”

To do that, Howard will do what she always does and play how she always plays—by charging forward.