Westhampton Beach Girls Lacrosse Drops Two Straight to Tough Opponents

Even though the Westhampton Beach girls lacrosse team lost back-to-back games this past week, Reese King believes they couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I think they made us realize how hard we now need to work to get to where we want to be,” said the sophomore midfielder. “They also showed us what we need to improve on and fix, which can always help.”

The Hurricanes dropped a close contest to rival Mt. Sinai, 5-4, on May 3, before a 10-6 defeat at Sacred Heart on Saturday.

The team’s lockdown defense was credited with keeping Westhampton Beach (9-4 overall, 9-3 in Division II) in both matchups, with King stating that the offense not capitalizing on enough of its chances led to the games getting away from them. The sophomore scored three goals against Mt. Sinai (9-4) and had eight draw controls, three assists and a goal against Sacred Heart (8-4 overall, 7-1 in the Catholic High School Athletic Association).

“When playing teams like Mt. Sinai, we really have to finish our opportunities as much as we can,” she said. “There’s no room for turnovers, and each possession matters.”

The Mustangs scored their first goal of the game off a turnover after the Hurricanes missed grabbing a pass from behind the cage, but King countered when she intercepted a handoff and drew a penalty call, scoring on the ensuing free position to tie the game with 11:17 left in the first half. She won another opportunity after a shooting space violation a minute later. King raced toward the goal, pulled back to throw off the goalkeeper and earned an easy look to score from close range and give Westhampton Beach its only lead of the game, 2-1. By halftime, Mt. Sinai led, 3-2.

“Those goals always feel great, and high-intensity games like those against Mt. Sinai will prepare us for the playoff atmosphere, but we need to realize that after last season, everyone wants to beat us,” King said. “So, we need to convert whenever we can and make sure our possessions end with a ball in the back of the net.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Maya Farnan said the trust among those on her defense has made the unit a formidable one.

“With every game comes more challenges for us to face, and these games caused us to make some changes strategically to improve our play,” she said. “These losses have also taught us that communication is key from end-line to end-line and even on the sideline.”

But senior defender and midfielder Reilly Mahon touted her goalkeeper’s efforts, especially the sophomore’s 12 saves against Sacred Heart.

“Maya is a phenomenal player and she always steps up and adapts to what’s going on in every game,” she said. “She is consistently amazing, and we are so lucky to have her.”

King said that while shot selection, finishing and clearing are the Hurricanes’ focus moving forward, Mahon added that spacing on offense and working together are also areas to improve in.

“We have seven girls who can score, and we want to make sure we are utilizing each one,” Mahon said. “On defense, we just have to keep the fire we have and keep coming up with the big plays. We know what we have to do, it’s just a matter of us executing when game time comes.”

The senior, who scored twice against Sacred Heart, said upcoming games against West Islip, on Tuesday, results of which were not available by press time, and at Rocky Point on Thursday, May 11, are crucial as Westhampton Beach looks to finish high in the standings for a strong spot in the playoffs.

“I think these losses made us realize that there is no time for breaks — that we have to keep pushing and working hard every day,” Mahon said. “We are feeling confident that we will do what we need to, and we know these games are important for us to continue our season and show everyone what we are made of.”