Belief in each other leads Huntington girls lacrosse to Class A state final; Olivia Puccio scores 3 goals
Olivia Puccio of the Huntington Blue Devils during a NYSPHSAA Class A semifinal lacrosse game against the Suffern Mounties at SUNY Cortland on June 12, 2026. Credit: Todd F. Michalek
CORTLAND — Huntington’s path in the girls lacrosse playoffs has been similar to last season. It now included a rematch with the Suffern team that ended its season a year ago.
It didn’t feel promising when Maryland commit Michaela Fay scored her second goal for Suffern, and the Blue Devils trailed by four midway through the second quarter.
But Huntington didn’t allow another goal the rest of the way. The Blue Devils held Suffern scoreless for more than 30 minutes and rallied for an 8-6 victory in the state Class A semifinals Friday morning.
Huntington (19-2) advanced to its first state final since 1995 and will face Penfield in the championship game at 9 a.m. Saturday in Cortland.
“It’s like we’ve said all year, we are never out of it,” Huntington coach Megan Marinelli said. “It all starts with the girls. They believe in themselves and there was never a doubt. The girls deserve this, and we’re excited.”
Last season, Fay scored four goals and Suffern earned an 11-9 victory. This time, Huntington’s answer was speedy defender Madyn Kalb, who face-guarded the Suffern star.
“It’s about the belief our defense has in each other,” Kalb said. “I know they are there for me if I get beat, and it’s what we’re based on, we help each other out.”
Suffern led 6-2 with 7:06 remaining in the second quarter. The Blue Devils started playing fast and took over the rest of the quarter. Sophomore Olivia Puccio scored three goals in the final five minutes of the quarter, including two in transition, to cut the deficit to one at halftime.
“The transition game was huge,” Puccio said. “Even though we had a slow start, we came together and realized this could be our last game together, and we couldn’t have that happen.”
Ava Bencivenga buried a high bouncer off a free position shot with 8:17 remaining in the third quarter to give Huntington a 7-6 lead.
Huntington had the ball with just over a minute left, leading by two, and Grace Gordon made sure it stayed with the Blue Devils. Gordon dove and won the ball back at the end line, allowing Huntington to maintain possession and secure the victory.
“We needed to put our heart out there and do whatever it takes,” Gordon said. “I was going neck-and-neck with that girl for the ball, so I dove. I knew we needed it to secure possession for the rest of the game. We were doing anything we could to win this game.”
