Sports
Huntington Girls Lacrosse Falls to Eastport-South Manor, 12-5
The Blue Devils' playoff status is in question after a loss on Senior Day.
The Huntington girls lacrosse team finished its regular season with a 9-5 record after a 12-5 loss to Eastport-South Manor on Monday.
Heroes: A balanced attack for Eastport-South Manor paced them in what was a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive. Freshman Dakota Mason scored three goals and added an assist, with sophomore Marissa Gurello, junior Dene' DiMartino, junior Katie Meinecke, and junior Anjelica Fuccillo contributing two goals apiece. DiMartino added three assists.
Huntington's five goals were split between Emma Hayes-Hurley, who had three, and Hannah Burnett, who had two. Goalie Anna Tesoriero made eleven saves.
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Turning Point: Hayes-Hurley's first goal of the game gave Huntington a 2-1 lead at the 5:22 mark of the first half. But Eastport-South Manor followed with three goals (from three different players) to take a 4-2 lead over the next 1:05. Mason's first of the game followed at the 12:13 mark, making it 5-2.
The score was 6-3 at halftime, but early second-half goals from Fuccillo and DiMartino put Eastport-South Manor up 8-3 quickly and prevented Huntington from getting any momentum to propel them back into the game.
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Quotable: After the game, the team conducted a ceremony saluting their five seniors (Hayes-Hurley, Emilie Pugliese, Sarah Ehrman, Shea Scully, and Sam Mohr), whom Wilson spoke glowingly about.
"I’ve been fortunate to know many of them for the three years I’ve been here," she said. "They’ve led by example. They play with such character. They’re hard-working. They’re driven. They’re motivated. They are dreams."
Despite the tough loss, Wilson spoke proudly to the crowd about her team's season. "Today, obviously, we didn’t end where we needed to be, but you can see there’s greatness here," she said. "We’re 9-5 right now. There’s still a good chance we’re getting into the playoffs. If you look at this team from three years ago, [they] were struggling to feel the taste of [a] win. This year they’ve been strong, and that’s thanks to the leadership."
Key Stat: Four of Huntington's five seniors will play lacrosse in college next spring. , , , and Pugliese will play at High Point.
Upcoming: Huntington now must wait and see whether or not it will earn a playoff berth.
Box Score:
Team 1 2 T Eastport-South Manor 6 6 12 Huntington 3 2 5Eastport-South Manor:
Goals - Mason 3, Gurello 2, DiMartino 2, Meinecke 2, A. Fuccillo 2, Gionta.
Assists - DiMartino 3, E. Gomez.
Saves - Giacolone 6.
Huntington:
Goals - Hayes-Hurley 3, Burnett 2.
Assists - Thompson, Healy, Biernacki.
Saves - Tesoriero 11.
Scoring Summary:
1st Half
HUNT goal - Burnett (1) - 2:22 - 1-0 HUNT
ESM goal - Gurello (1) - 3:14 - 1-1
HUNT goal - Hayes-Hurley (1) - 5:22 - 2-1 HUNT
ESM goal - Gurello (2) - 7:00 - 2-2
ESM goal - DiMartino (1) - 7:19 - 3-2 ESM
ESM goal - Gionta (1) - 8:05 - 4-2 ESM
ESM goal - Mason (1) - 12:13 - 5-2 ESM
HUNT goal - Burnett (2) - 19:36 - 5-3 ESM
ESM goal - Meinecke (1) - 23:32 - 6-3 ESM
2nd Half
ESM goal - A. Fuccillo (1) - 7-3 ESM
ESM goal - DiMartino (2) - 8-3 ESM
HUNT goal - Hayes-Hurley (2) - 10:22 - 8-4 ESM
ESM goal - Meinecke (2) - 13:23 - 9-4 ESM
ESM goal - Mason (2) - 14:23 - 10-4 ESM
HUNT goal - Hayes-Hurley (3) - 15:09 - 10-5 ESM
ESM goal - A. Fuccillo (2) - 19:37 - 11-5 ESM
ESM goal - Mason (3) - 21:20 - 12-5 ESM
