The Ward Melville Lady Patriots are ranked at number 12 in the LILJ preseason rankings. This year they are under new leadership with Stephanie Peragallo being named the new head coach. They are in Suffolk’s Conference A where last season they finished with a 9-7 record and lost in the quarterfinals against Huntington. Ward Melville participated in the LILJ High School Winter League during the offseason where they had a great showing. They went 4-2 against some very stout Suffolk County opponents and won the Dragonfly Championship.
Among their key players that are returning this year are Grace Mulham, Kate Spinks, and Courtney Quinn (Stony Brook). Mulham is a sophomore attacker and posted 40 points last year as only a freshman which was the second most on the team. She is also coming off of a strong winter league where she finished tied for second on the team in points with nine. Spinks is also a sophomore attacker and made her presence known with 22 points last season. Quinn is the veteran of the bunch, entering her senior season. She plays midfield and is coming off of a 21 goal 10 assist season as a junior. She was also the team leader in draw controls and draws taken in the winter league, so expect her to spend a lot of time in the circle this spring.
On defense the Patriots welcome back senior Kate Ancona who will be one of the leaders of the defensive unit. Two defenders she will be playing alongside are juniors Catie Edson (Manhattan) and Brynn Davenport. They will be playing in front of super sophomore goalie Ava Carillo who was the team’s starter last year as a freshman. She had 96 saves and a save percentage just under 50%. Carillo also finished the winter league number one in saves with 58 and a 52% save percentage.
One key loss for the Patriots from last year’s squad is midfielder Summer Agostino(Boston College). This is a big void that will be missing on the offensive end which means that it’s on the players who are returning to make up for her absence. Agostino accounted for 60 points last season which was by far the most on the team. She is now one of Ward Melville’s notable alumni and is continuing her lacrosse career at Boston College. The team will also be without midfielder Amanda Lee who had a big senior year. She accounted for 30 goals and six assists for 36 points
A couple of young guns who could potentially see some playing time this season are Ava Simonton and Peyton Phillips. Both are freshmen and saw plenty of action in the winter league. Simonton is a midfielder and finished with nine goals which was second on the team and had nine ground balls which was a team-high. Phillips plays defense and has a tremendously bright future with the Patriots.
Ward Melville has a number of teams on their schedule that will make for great matchups. These games include inter-county matchups, winter league rematches, and rematches from last season. Here are the notable games for the Patriots this season.
West Islip @ Ward Melville (3/22)
Garden City @ Ward Melville (3/26)
Ward Melville @ William Floyd (4/5)
Ward Melville @ Smithtown East (4/26)
Northport @ Ward Melville (5/3)
Huntington @ Ward Melville (5/10)
The combination of youth and veterans as well as gaining valuable experience playing in the winter league leaves a lot to be excited about in the Ward Melville community. Coach Peragallo expressed her feelings on the upcoming season.
“This is my first year with the Ward Melville lacrosse program. I am excited to provide the team with a new coaching perspective and see how they respond. We have a lot of young talent and I think making mature decisions on the field will be our key to success.”
