Huntington girls lacrosse wins its first state championship

CORTLAND — For the Huntington girls lacrosse team, it has always been about the power of belief.

When Penfield’s Peyton Rothfuss looked unstoppable in the first half, the Blue Devils didn’t flinch.

Huntington held Penfield to one goal in the second half. The Blue Devils claimed the state Class A championship with a 9-6 victory to win their first state title on Saturday.

“We had a really hard path to get here,” Huntington coach Megan Marinelli said. “They battled for everything they got. I feel grateful to be a part of it because it’s all them. They are fearless and never stopped believing.”

Huntington (20-2) won its fifth straight game decided by three goals or fewer. The team has a license plate with “Believe” on it, and its dream turned into reality.

“We’ve always said to believe in each other and trust each other,” senior Jolie Weinschreider said. “It was an intense game, one of the hardest of the season, but we had the mindset. They are not invited into our party, they will not stop our team. And there is just no other way I’d rather end my high school career.”

Rothfuss, a top recruit committed to Syracuse, had two goals and two assists in the first half. Penfield (18-4), the defending state champions, took a 5-4 lead into halftime.

Then junior Madyn Kalb got the assignment to deny Rothfuss the ball, and she succeeded. Kalb held their superstar off the scoresheet in the second half. Rothfuss rarely touched the ball with Kalb attached to her hip the rest of the way.

“I couldn’t let her get the ball,” Kalb said. “I’m used to doing this in basketball, and I kept using my speed to stay with her. I know I have a brick wall of a defense with me, and that’s what got it done today.”

On Friday, Kalb had the same assignment, shutting down Suffern’s best player in the second half of the state semifinals to help Huntington reach this stage.

“She’s an unbelievable athlete,” Marinelli said. “You can see it when you watch her move. She’s an unreal athlete. Having someone like her faceguard an opponent is just game-changing.”

Weinschreider tied the score at 5 with a righthanded shot on the run with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter.

After Penfield went up 6-5, Weinschreider struck again. She scored her third goal of the game to tie the contest at 6 with 10.2 seconds left in the third quarter.

“In the playoffs, we’ve trailed in a bunch of games,” Weinschreider said. “But the climb just added fuel to our fire, and we capitalized on that.”

Bridget Callery scored the go-ahead goal on a lefthanded shot that sailed top shelf, giving the Blue Devils a 7-6 lead with 11:09 remaining.

The Puccio sisters both delivered for Huntington. Valentina scored in transition with 7:57 left to make it a two-goal game, and Olivia added a goal off a pass from Valentina with 3:33 remaining to extend the lead to 9-6.

Olivia Puccio scored three of her four goals in the first half, as neither team led by more than one goal through the first two quarters.

“It means so much,” Olivia Puccio said “It’s my last year playing with [my sister], and I’m so excited to share this moment with her today.”

Juliet Johnson made six saves, including multiple stops on the doorstep. She allowed only one goal in the second half as Huntington made school history.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment,” Johnson said. “I’m so proud of our team. This is surreal. I knew we could do this and we’re making history.”