With just two teams remaining in the LILJ top 24 preseason rankings, it’s the Bayport Blue Point Phantoms coming in at number two. Last year was one for the history books as they won their first ever Class C New York State Championship and went a perfect 20-0 along the way. This year it’s about trying to make it back-to-back with the returning group of players that they have, and they are out to prove that they are still the team beat.
Leading the charge for the Phantoms is Head Coach Ryan Gick, and this offseason they appeared in the LILJ HSWL where they showed why they are once again the favorites to at the very least win the counties. Returning at attack for the Phantoms is Stony Brook commit Erika Kreuscher, Quinnipiac commit Emma Shanahan, Shannon Kroog, and Sara Richardt. The lefty Kreuscher is destined for her biggest season yet and is ready to be that number one option after a huge showing in the winter league where she was tied for the team lead in points with 28 in six games played, scoring 12 goals with 16 assists. Shanahan is also in line for a break out junior campaign after starting this winter and seeing plenty of minutes where she scored eighth goals. In the sophomore class Richardt burst onto the scene dating back to last year as a freshman, and her game continues to elevate. Playing with supreme confidence this winter, Richardt was good for seven goals and four assists for 11 points at attack, and isn’t one just relegated to being an attacker, as she can also thrive on the field as a middie.
Bayport has two of the game’s elite returning at midfield in the junior class with Maryland commit Ava Meyn and Syracuse commit Auburn Eisfeld. Meyn the electrifying and dominant midfielder delivered greatly her sophomore year with 39 goals, 19 assists for 58 points, and followed up a great spring with a huge winter league, tallying 19 goals and five assists for 24 points. Beyond just the point production, Meyen is often times in command at the draw circle, and can change the course of a game on the defensive side of the field. Eisfeld, another top tier athlete has tremendous speed in her game as a complete midfielder, and had a huge hand their championship run last season with 26 points, and was tied for the team lead this winter with 28 points along with seven ground balls and seven caused turnovers. In the senior class rounding out their first midfield line is Stony Brook commit Julia Fusco who also fills up the box score in a variety of ways whether its scoring, creating takeaways or tracking down ground balls, and did a little of everything last season with 26 goals, 11 ground balls, and seven caused turnovers. The Phantoms second midfield includes seniors Kate Lemery (Hofstra), Kayla Vazquez (Rider), and another top sophomore on the island Kailey Bruckner who was part of last season’s run to the state championship
On the defensive side of the field Bayport had the best defense statistically on the island last year, allowing a total of 79 goals all season and an average of fewer than four goals per game. Between great individual defenders, very strong goaltending, and as a team their ability to ride the ball better than any other team, this will once again be a huge strength this year. They return their top defender in junior Stanford commit Emma Brown, as well as seniors Julia Kroog, Maggie Lemery, and sophomore Shannon Carney, with the net protected by senior Quinnipiac commit Shannon Alden who enters her first season as the starting goalie.
With such a deep number of contenders in Suffolk Class C, Bayport will face great competition this season as teams look to take out the champs, but they will be looking to stay at the top and win their fourth straight county title and second straight LIC with a chance for back-to-back state championships.
