East Hampton’s girls lacrosse team had a dominant 17-7 win over North Babylon, a nonleague opponent, in its first game of the season at home on Saturday. Bright blue skies and abundant sunshine provided the perfect backdrop for a promising start to the season.
“It’s what you train all winter for, to come back out here and get to play under the sun. Everyone feels good, energy’s high. Everyone’s vibing on the sidelines, even when they’re not playing in the game. It helps. It definitely does,” said Joe DiGirolomo, their head coach.
Lola Eldridge, a team captain who plays midfield, was the lead scorer with four goals on seven shots. The Pierson junior also had an assist, caused two turnovers, won five ground balls, and controlled four draws.
“Lola’s a stud. She’s pretty much our do-it-all player. Starts on the draw. She composes the offense, she energizes the defense. She’s kind of like our heartbeat. She’s going to be our driving force for success throughout the year for sure,” DiGirolomo said.
Katie Grande and Carly Fromm, who both play attack, had three goals apiece. Clio Halweil, an attack, scored two, as did Abby Perello, a middie, and Juliette Jimenez, a sophomore. Jimenez’s opening goal was her first as a varsity player. Cass Ceva, an attack, also scored one.
On the back end of the field, Hannah Salazar Sierra, the team’s goaltender, a senior from Pierson, also played a strong game.
“Our goalie, Hannah, for sure stepped up. She had [seven] saves and that’s game-changing. That’s huge,” said DiGirolomo.
East Hampton was able to hold a 10-point lead for much of the second half, which — in girls high school lacrosse — means there are no clock stoppages, something the team strives to achieve.
“We try not to scoreboard-watch, but obviously that 10-goal lead is something we try to focus on,” DiGirolomo said. “If we can get it there and keep that clock running, it is a positive thing for us, not in terms of what the score is, but the type of play we’re putting out there on the field. So it’s definitely a goal and if we can get there, it’s huge.”
Not one to be too confident too soon, DiGirolomo said the team still has things to work on early in the season, even after a dominant victory. He’s “still trying to figure out where girls play best and who works best with each other. I think our offense incorporated a lot of our set plays and it worked. Defensively, we still need to work on communication. So that’s something that I’m going to kind of harp on the girls all the time no matter what the score is: Discipline defensively, communicate, and move your bodies and we’ll be good.”
The home win was important for the Bonackers, who are scheduled to play their next five games on the road. They won’t return to Long Lane until after spring break, with a 4:30 p.m. start against Bellport on April 17. Until then, they hope to keep winning and developing their roster.
“We love that we have a bench where we can put everybody in and there’s no drop-off,” DiGirolomo said. “We have girls who are versatile, girls who can play multiple positions and we showed that today with a well-rounded team effort.”
