Bayport eyes county title repeat

Defending Suffolk County and Long Island Class C field hockey champion Bayport-Blue Point broke out of the gate quickly once again, winning seven of its first eight—most in dominant fashion.

The Phantoms, who defeated Carle Place, 1-0, on Lexie Kennedy’s fourth-quarter goal and Zoe Saliani’s four saves for the program’s first-ever L.I. Class C title, saw those two kids graduate and returned only four starters from last year’s 17-win squad.

“We brought back a nice core and some young kids have stepped up,” coach Karen Gick said. “We’ll be in the C bracket again for playoffs, but we still play all the Class B schools.”

Senior captains Madeline Clark, Lily LiPuma and Olivia Farrell all returned, along with junior Camryn Bruckner. Through nine games, Bayport is 8-1 and Clark leads the way in assists with 12. LiPuma has a team-high 10 goals and four assists, Bruckner has seven goals and four assists, and Farrell a goal and five assists.

Clark, who started on defense last year and still drops back on occasion based on game flow and matchups, has moved to midfield and is thriving, Gick said. “Her game has come a long way, even from last year,” the coach said. “She’s a true team player and creating a lot of offense.”

LiPuma and Bruckner were two of the team’s leading scorers a year ago and picked up where they left off. LiPuma is an attacking forward with speed to burn. Bruckner sees time up front and in the midfield, where her vision and ability to shut off opponents’ passing come in handy.

“They both have great stick skills,” Gick said.

Farrell is an outside midfielder who’s always in the right place at the right time, the coach said. “She’s a gamechanger who always gets the job done,” Gick said.

Juniors Kaelyn Aiello (nine goals, five assists) and Kate Baillargeon (eight, four) have bolstered the offense. Aiello is a varsity returnee who brings quickness and aggressiveness, while Baillargeon is a varsity newcomer who has filled a scoring void, Gick said.

Most of last year’s defensive contributors graduated. Gick said senior Lili May has risen to the occasion to be a key ingredient to the effort in front of a new goalie.

New starting goaltender Victoria Madden, a sophomore, posted a shutout in the opener against East Hampton, a 7-0 victory on Sept. 3, and passed a huge test two days later when Bayport traveled to Harborfields. She made nine saves in a 2-1 win and got offensive support from Clark, who scored and assisted on LiPuma’s goal.

“Tori is really coming into her own,” Gick said of Madden. “She has great awareness and in the games she was challenged, she played amazing.”

The Phantoms’ lone loss in September came at Miller Place on the Sept. 10. After a scoreless battle through four quarters of regulation, the Panthers won it, 1-0, in a shootout.

“It was a battle,” Gick said. “Most of the play was in the midfield.”