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Ward Melville girls lacrosse

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

By Bill Landon

It was all Ward Melville girl’s lacrosse when Walt Whitman came calling on May 12. The Patriots peppered the scoreboard with 10 unanswered points by the four-minute mark of the opening quarter to force a running clock.

The Patriots were loose and seemed to be able to score at will, keeping Whitman on their heels. Senior attack Olivia Zummo had her hat-trick with seven minutes left in the opening quarter that would set the tone for the Patriots the rest of the way.

Zummo finished the day with four goals and two assists with Ava Simonton adding three and Sadie Banks inked three assists and two goals in the 17-3 victory.

Goalie Delaney Florio notched a single save in the Division I matchup. 

The win lifts the Patriots to 9-5 with two games remaining before post season play begins Tuesday May 20. 

— Photos by Bill Landon 

By Bill Landon

The Longwood Lions girl’s lacrosse (2-2) had their hands full from the opening quarter when they collided the Patriots of Ward Melville in a Division I matchup on the road Friday afternoon April 11.

Ward Melville protecting a three-goal lead coming out of the half time break the Patriots peppered the scoreboard with three more while holding the Lions scoreless in the second half to win the game 9-3.

It was Keira Pirozzi’s stick that spoke the loudest for the Patriots where the junior midfielder notched 4 goals along with Ava Simonton’s goal coupled with 3 assists. 8th grader Nicole Manolakes split the pipes twice and teammates Olivia Zumma and Mia Modica both scored.

Sydney Millett had 8 saves in net for the Patriots.

The win keeps the Patriots undefeated in their division, 4-1 overall.

— Photos by Bill Landon

By Steven Zaitz

Northport, Ward Melville, and lacrosse always make for a high-stakes combination. It was no different last Friday, May 24, when the two girls varsity teams faced off in the Suffolk County Class A championship game at neutral-site West Islip.

This time, the Lady Patriots came out on top, doubling up their most bitter rival with a score of 8-4.

Northport, who beat Ward Melville in the county final two years ago when Isabella Germani scored with three minutes left to lift Northport to an 8-7 win, could not ride the wave of their emotional semifinal victory against Commack, which gave head coach Carol Rainson-Rose her 500th career win.

Ward Melville’s stifling defense led to numerous Northport turnovers, and the Patriots capitalized on them. Attacker Grace Mulham and midfielder M.J. Timpanaro scored second-quarter goals that gave Ward Melville a 4-2 lead. Senior attacker Kate Spinks scored to open the second half, and senior goalkeeper Ava Carrillo did the rest.

Carrillo made six saves, many with a great degree of difficulty, and played a positionally sound game, rarely giving Northport anything to shoot at.

Tiger freshman Riley Cash had two goals, and senior captains Kennedy Radziul and Christina Lauro each scored once. However, big guns Julia Huxtable and Kate Atkinson were held scoreless.

Freshman middie Aliya Leonard had a pair of goals, and junior Ava Simonton and senior Mia Pirozzi also scored.

The Lady Patriots, who last won the Suffolk County championship in 2007, will take on the winner of Farmingdale and Massapequa for the Long Island championship next weekend.

By Bill Landon

Ward Melville girls lacrosse team opened their season at home against the Longwood Lions on Monday, March 25, under brilliant sunshine in a Division 1 matchup where both teams traded goals through two quarters of play. Longwood found the back of the cage in the final seconds to take a 5-4 lead into the halftime break.

The Patriots dispatched the offseason cobwebs in the second half as they dominated the time of possession, and with smart clock management rattled off six unanswered goals, shutting out the Lions in the second half to cruise to a 10-5 victory.

Senior attack Kate Spinks picked up where she left off last season topping the scoring charts for the Patriots with four goals and one assist. 

Junior midfielder Ava Simonton had two goals to go along with an assist, and teammate M.J. Timpanaro found the back of the cage twice.

The Patriots looked to build on Monday’s momentum when they traveled to Sachem East Wednesday, March 27, but the result was not available at press time.

— Photos by Bill Landon