Rising Freeport answers the bell

The Freeport girls’ lacrosse team is more than holding its own against stepped up competition this spring.

The Red Devils, who moved up to Conference IV this season, split their first four games against a new set of rivals and held second half leads in both losses. The 2-2 league record entered the week positions Freeport with a chance to make the playoffs for the second straight season after reaching the postseason for the first time in more than a decade last year with an unbeaten mark in Conference V. 

“It is a challenging conference, but I think that we have the skills to be in this conference and this is why we've worked so hard to bring this program to where we are,” said sixth-year coach Anabel Lopez, who began leading the Red Devils a year after a winless 2017 season. “It’s amazing to be in this conference and already winning two games is big.”

Freeport, which graduated 12 seniors from last season, nearly made it three league wins last Saturday after grabbing a three-goal lead at Elmont before the Spartans fought back to win 8-6. The Red Devils mounted their own comeback the previous night game though in a 6-5 win against Hicksville on Thursday where the team rallied from a 4-1 halftime deficit.

Junior attacker Cassie Smith was an integral part of the Hicksville win talling four goals and an assist along with four draw control wins. Freeport was cool under pressure at the end of the game in running out the final six minutes after gaining possession up one shortly after Smith’s game-winner. Freshman Ava Smith, the younger sister of Cassie, registered two goals including the tying score. 

“They really feed each other,” said Lopez of the sister duo. “I’m so happy to see what they do the rest of this season and next year.” 

Cassie Smith was also a force in Freeport’s 15-12 win against Carey on April 12 netting nine goals and four draw controls. Ava Smith and Amber Marquez each scored two goals apiece in a game where Freeport jumped out to an 11-5 halftime lead. 

The only other conference loss for Freeport came in a 9-8 heartbreaking defeat to New Hyde Park on April 4 in which Malea Saccheri tallied the game-winning goal with 23 seconds remaining. 

The defense, led by seniors Tayla Baskin and Linsey Correira, has held opponents to single digits in three games so far. Goalie Pamela Collado has been solid in her first season starting on varsity and is among the saves leaders in Conference IV. 

Freeport travels to Clarke this Friday and hosts Bellmore-JFK on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in its final home game. The Red Devils are seeking a strong finish that can propel the team into the playoffs for a second straight season by placing in the league’s top two. 

“As a team, we need to work hard from the first half to the end,” Lopez said. “We need to be confident in our abilities and with each other in order to progress.”