As we begin the LILJ top 24 preseason rankings in high school girls lacrosse, we start with the Connetquot Thunderbirds of Suffolk Class A. Led by longtime head coach Sal Piscitelli, they enter the new season after a very competitive 2023 in which they went 9-7 in the regular season and appeared in the playoffs where they won a first round playoff game against Longwood before being defeated by Ward Melville in the quarterfinals. This year they come into the season with plenty of familiar faces that were integral in making last year a success, and are fresh off of playing in the LILJ HSWL to gear up for the spring.
For the Thunderbirds to have another successful season, they will surely be looking for plenty of production from the attack duo of Sydney Elizalde (Cortland) and Madison Mileti (Dominican). As a sophomore last year, Elizalde had a breakout season, finishing with 37 goals and 16 assists for 53 points, and continued her scoring rampage in the winter league, tallying 20 goals and six assists in six games. The senior Mileti was last season’s second leading scorer behind Elizalde, doing most of her damage in the assist department with 28 assists along with 19 goals for a total of 47 points. Part of this attack also includes junior Taryn Murphy and their young gun freshman Natalie Insinga who got a taste of the varsity level competition as an eighth grader where she chipped in with 11 points in a small sample size
With a midfield that also welcomes back their core from last year, they have a diverse and balanced group that can each provide an offensive punch on any given day. Starting with their junior Binghamton commit Jamie Elliot, she was last season’s leading scorer from the midfield with 29 points, and has shown to impact the game on both sides of the field as a true two-way midfielder. Also in the junior class running first midfield is Reagan Silhan (Southern Connecticut State) after an 18 point season last year. On the draw circle the senior Isabella Montuori (Kutztown) is their primary draw specialist that will look to get possession for the Thunderbirds offense which averaged 10 goals per game in 2023. The midfield is also comprised of underclassmen who will play valuable minutes this season in sophomore Bianca Graham who struck for 13 goals with three assists last year, and Jennavieve Lineman now in year two on varsity as just an eighth grader.
Defensively Connetquot allowed just a shade over seven goals per game, and remain largely in tact with defenders Jenna Zachmann (Radford), Janna Weltner (Muhlenberg) as upperclassmen, and sophomores Avery Melchiona, Ava Truglio, and Juliana Scharfenberger. The defense will be playing in front of a new goalie this season with Cadence Gentile in the 2023 graduating class. In the winter league the reps were shared between junior Adrianna Giommetti and eighth grader Shannon Morley.
The 2024 season looks to be one of promise for the Thunderbirds as they look to build on the success of last season and possibly take another step forward.
