Climbing up the ladder in the top 24 preseason rankings we get to number 19 which is the ESM Sharks. The Sharks led by Head Coach Becky Thorn consistently find themselves in the playoffs and last season that trend continued, but they were defeated by Smithtown West in the Class B Semifinals. This season the Sharks return much of their core as they look to get back to the playoffs and complete what could be considered unfinished business. ESM got after it this off-season by taking part in the LILJ HSWL where they were champions of the A bracket.
The offensive side of the field sees the Sharks return their second leading scorer from last season in Amanda Sweeney the future Cincinnati Bearcat. In 2023 Sweeney scored a total of 30 goals and had 33 points from the midfield. Playing alongside Sweeney at midfield is Loyola commit Emma McLean and Jacksonville commit Natalie Psaltis as their upperclassmen. ESM also has some young gun midfielders to look out for this season in freshman Katelynn Murtha who already enters her third season on varsity, and sophomore Kate Valenti.
At attack for the Sharks they are led by Florida bound senior Caylin Luciano who in 2023 scored 19 goals and had five assists for 25 points. Rounding out their attack includes seniors Kassidy Miller (FSC), Jordan Ellis (Lock Haven), and sophomores Taylor Murtha and Molly McGuire. Last year the Sharks offense averaged just under nine goals per game.
Defense has typically been the calling card for ESM, and it starts in the net with senior goalie Ashley Langdon (Hopkins). Langdon is among the best goalies on the island and will keep ESM in virtually every game with her ability to stand on her head and makes plenty of saves that are far from routine. Last season she stopped 83 shots and was over 50% in saves. The Sharks allowed an average of 6.5 goals per game last season, only giving up double digit goals twice through 16 games. In the 2027 class look out for Sarah Langdon to potentially be a key contributor defensively after seeing plenty of time in the winter league playing a big role in the Shark’s ability to clear the ball, as well as sophomore defender/midfielder Makayla Coyle who also saw plenty of playing time in the winter league as one of their top defenders both on and off-ball.
