Riverhead girls lax is doing its best with a young squad, key injuries

Four years ago, Kyleigh Lennon, Abigail Maaiki, and Emma Kennedy were just freshmen trying to bring the Riverhead lacrosse program back to their prominent past. Now, as the only three seniors on the team, they’re looking to pass the torch.

Through seven games this season, the Blue Waves have posted a 3-4 record, playing with an underclassman-heavy team. Two key players — Gabriella Rossetti and Carly Golz — have also been nursing injuries and are out for the season. 

“It stinks with the injuries, but the bright spot at the end of the tunnel is that we’re seeing what our younger girls can do,” Riverhead head coach Megan Pepe said. “We have a nice blend of upperclassmen that are helping them along as they step into major roles they may have otherwise not been in.”

Playing at Central Islip on Thursday, April 16, two of those underclassmen notched the first goals of their varsity careers in a 10-0 victory over the Musketeers. Alexis Gabriel and Mia Caputo, both freshmen, took advantage of their minutes after Riverhead sprang out to an 8-0 lead at half, subbed out their starters and nailed the back of the net. Gabriel scored twice on the afternoon. 

“We’re just trying to enjoy the moments and enjoy our last season here,” Lennon said, who has scored 15 goals and collected 10 assists this season. “We’re not full strength out there, but we are going to keep fighting to remain competitive for the season.”

The trio of seniors has been instrumental in anything positive that happens on the field. Whether it’s Maaiki leading the break, Lennon settling things down, or Kennedy causing havoc, Riverhead relies heavily on its seniors, who are constantly around the ball.

Maaiki has scored 15 goals this season, and Kennedy has tallied seven.

“We’re trying to do our best to be leaders on the field and off the field,” Maaiki said. “We try to be there for our teammates and help them in any way we can, just like the seniors did when we were freshmen.”

Out of the 19 players on the team, 10 of them are underclassmen. The team carries three freshmen on the team, with the third freshman being defense/midfield Hailey Witt.

“I really think the future is bright here,” Kennedy said. “We see what these girls are capable of doing every day in practice. I think it’s just a matter of getting them up to speed and staying healthy.”

When Pepe took over the program, this year’s seniors were just freshmen, so seeing them lead the team now is a full-circle type of moment.

“For me, this is so special,” Pepe said. “When I first got the role here for head coach, they were my first group of freshmen. They’ve given so much to the program over the years with how hard they work. They all bring different qualities to the team to influence the game at all times.”

The team leader in goals scored is sophomore attack Evelyn Skop, who has beaten the goalkeeper 18 times this season. She scored as many as six in a game this season in Riverhead’s 16-15 victory over Walt Whitman on April 1. Fellow sophomore goalkeeper Payton Scudder has made 37 saves this season.

“If we want to make the playoffs this season, we’re going to have to win the games we should and then steal a few,” Pepe said. “We need to keep the rest of the girls healthy, and I know they’re going to fight until the final game of the season.”

Riverhead has won two games in a row and now travels to Brentwood (2-5) on Monday before heading to William Floyd (5-1) on Wednesday.