Winding down the LILJ top 24 preseason rankings, we get to the top five and at number five it’s the Ward Melville Patriots. In Suffolk Class A the Patriots have been in contention to win the counties the last two seasons under Head Coach Stephanie Peragallo who now enters year three at the helm. Last year Ward Melville earned the one seed going into the playoffs and won in the quarterfinals before being defeated in the semifinals against Smithtown East. This year with much of their team returning, the Patriots have another great shot to capture the county and Long Island Championship they’ve been chasing.
Ward Melville’s attack welcomes back their senior Brown commit Kate Spinks as their X attacker who found the back of the net 32 times last season with 35 points, and in the LILJ HSWL was tied for the team lead in goals with 12 through four games. The Patriots also look forward to the return of senior Princeton commit Grace Mulham after missing most of last year due to injury as this tandem between Spinks and Mulham will be scoring in bunches this season. Unfortunately Ward Melville will be without senior Villanova commit Grace Balocca this year due to a knee injury which will be an impactful loss as she was their leading scorer at attack last year with 30 goals and 16 assists for 46 points. Without Balocca the Patriots will look for even more production from those returning to fill the void.
The midfield for Ward Melville is about six deep which is a huge part in why they have consistently been contenders. In the senior class they will be led by Navy commit Emilia Retzlaff, Rhode Island commit MJ Timpanaro, and Marist bound Amelia Pirozzi. Between their three seniors they combined for 106 points last season, and on the draw circle Timpanaro will be an instrumental factor taking draws. Adding to their deep midfield is junior Villanova commit Ava Simonton, sophomore Mia Modica, and freshman Aliya Leonard. Simonton had a very impactful sophomore season with 27 goals and 10 assists, while Leonard opened a lot of eyes as an eighth grader where she saw plenty of meaningful minutes and found the back of the net 20 times. Look for Modica to see enhanced playing time this season as she enters year two on varsity.
Defensively the Patriots have top tier defenders in their respective classes, led by their two Penn commits in senior Olivia Comerford and junior Peyton Phillips. These are two of the elite defenders on the island, who both bring speed, athleticism, tenaciousness and a high IQ to the game. In addition to Comerford and Phillips, the Patriots defense also features another top junior defender in Ava Folkman, and freshman Quinlan Heilbron who has shown to be one of the top defenders in the 2027 class after starting last season. In the net for Ward Melville is senior VCU commit Ava Carrillo who has been the starting goalie dating back to her freshman year and comes off an 85 save season in 2023.
