Girls Lacrosse: Game winning goals cut both ways for Riverhead
HALF HOLLOW HILLS 11, RIVERHEAD 10
It’s been a bumpy ride early in the season for the young Blue Waves. In just a matter of days, the Riverhead girls lacrosse team wound up on both sides of a game-winning goal.
Riverhead (1-2 Division I, 2-3 overall) was on an absolute high after Logan Pilon fired an overtime game-winning goal to beat Patchogue-Medford on Saturday. Fast forward two days later to Monday morning, the Blue Waves suffered a true heartbreak defeat in the final seconds, 11-10 at home to Half Hollow Hills.
“It was a tight game from start to finish,” Riverhead head coach Megan Pepe said. “It definitely could have gone either way up until the last second. I’m obviously upset that we lost, but I was very pleased with the effort that the girls gave.”
The Blue Waves led by as many as two goals at one point as both teams to traded goals. Half Hollow Hills (2-0, 2-1) went into halftime ahead by one goal. The game was a back-and-forth affair but ultimately it was Half Hollow Hills’ Jayden Piriano that shot the game-winner with 30 seconds left on the game clock to seal the deal. It was her fifth goal of the game. Riverhead won the draw on the following possession and had a few shots to score to bring the game to overtime but the offense could not produce a clear opening to find the back of the net.
“Being on both sides of things these last couple of days have helped the girls learn a lot,” Pepe said. “We learned how to battle out a win and we learned that we need to manage the game better when we have a lead. It’s something that we are continuously working on.”
A team with only three seniors, Riverhead has struggled with the experience level of other teams, but having such close games is an indicator that the talent level is definitely there. For a team that plays mainly underclassmen including four freshmen and an eighth-grader that says a lot.
“I think sometimes we play nervous and a little reserved,” Pepe said. “We’re really trying to break out of our shell. It’s not just the younger girls. I think it’s just in general. Either we get too excited and then we get nervous and make a mistake or we have a lead and we kind of relax a little bit and they get the ball back and score. We just need to continue to work on our confidence.”
Pilon, a sophomore, scored three goals for the Blue Waves following a four-goal performance the game before.
“Pilon has definitely stepped up this season,” Pepe said. “She has a very important role in our attack. She does a great job feeding the ball and going to goal. She’s becoming a more versatile player which will make her a very important asset on our team.”
Elisabeth Hanham, one of Riverhead’s three seniors, has scored 10 goals in the last two games.
“Hanham has been on varsity for three years now,” Pepe said. “She’s got the experience I hope the rest of the team develops in time. She’s played against a lot of great athletes over the years and she shows that leadership game in and game out.”
Pepe’s motto from the start of the season was just to improve every game. The coach calls it a “cheesy cliché” but she sees that improvement in her players as every game passes.
“Whether the score reflects it or not, we’ve improved immensely from the first game against Center Moriches to this game,” Pepe said. “We’ve implemented different kinds of defense and the girls picked it up right away. Our attackers are doing a great job running our offense. Five out of our seven girls have been scoring on offense the last two games. Things are definitely coming together for us.”
Riverhead returns to action next Tuesday, April 11, at Longwood.
