By Steven Zaitz
The hunt for a title is over. Huntington Union Free School District senior Jenna Italiano capped off a thrilling 8-7 sudden-death overtime win for the girls lacrosse team, defeating the defending champion Ward Melville High School Patriots. The win on May 31 gave the Lady Blue Devils their first Suffolk County crown in 30 years.
In a back-and-forth game under extremely windy conditions, Ward Melville raced out to a 3-1 lead when they scored a trio of goals in a 92-second span in the middle of the first quarter. But Huntington senior midfielder, and Italiano’s teammate on the Blue Devils basketball team, Sabrina Boyle beat the shot clock for a goal to close out the quarter and tighten the score at 3-2. Boyle cut from the far-right sideline across the field, ducked and spun away from multiple Patriots defenders and put the ball past Ward Melville freshman goalkeeper Sydney Millett as Boyle was being knocked to the ground.
The next three quarters would be a similar trade of haymakers.
Attacker Grace Gordon and Boyle would score early in the second quarter to flip the lead back to Huntington 4-3. This pair of markers for the Blue Devils represented the third lead change of the game.
There would be more lead changes to come.
Patriots defender Nori Korzenko created a turnover and flung a pass to midfielder Mia Modica racing through the center. On the dead run, Modica threw it to senior field hockey and lacrosse star Olivia Zummo at the right goal post. Zummo centered a pass across the circle to Nicole Manolakes. Manolakes, only in the eighth grade, whipped it past Huntington goalkeeper Juliet Johnson to tie the score at 5 with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
Patriots attacker Keira Pirozzi was checked in the head with 3:41 left in the period and scored the second free-position goal of the game to give Ward Melville a 6-5 lead. It would stay that way until 6:20 remained in the game when junior Gordon tied it at 6 for Huntington after she was fouled.
Aliya Leonard did the same for Ward Melville with 1:43 remaining, tying the game at 7 with a free-position goal. It was Leonard’s third goal of the game and it would be the last goal of regulation for either side.
Boyle, who injured her leg and briefly left the game in the first half, was quiet for a long stretch of the game thereafter. Ward Melville employed the defensive tactic known as the face guard on her, which puts a defender never more than a few inches away, stick waving in her face.
This did not prevent Boyle from creating defense of her own — defense that would lead to the final scoring attack of the game.
After a timeout in the overtime session, Boyle intercepted a long, diagonal and ill-advised pass by Ward Melville defender Quinlan Heilbron and was then fouled by Pirozzi along the left sideline.
Pirozzi was sent off because she whacked Boyle around the head area, and when play resumed, Boyle lofted a cross-field pass to senior Devon St. John, who raced to her right about 20 yards away from the net. St. John spotted Italiano curling in front and snapped a perfect pass to her. Italiano caught the ball and, after a few quick dodges to her right, whistled it past Millett for the golden, game-winning, championship-clinching goal and an 8-7 win for Huntington. It was Italiano’s first shot attempt of the afternoon.
The Lady Blue Devils, who last won a county title in 1995, played Massapequa High School on Tuesday, June 3, at Adelphi University in Garden City. Huntington beat Northport High School in overtime on May 29 in the semifinal game, and in beating Ward Melville in the finals, the Blue Devils defeated the last two Suffolk County champions from 2023 and 2024. Massapequa has won the past two Long Island Class A championships.
— Photos by Steven Zaitz
