Kayden Meyer leads well-balanced attack as Floyd girls lacrosse advances to Suffolk Class A semifinals
Floyd's Kayden Meyer (15) gets around Connetquot's Reagan Silhan (9) and scores in the second quarter during the Suffolk Class A quarterfinal game between Floyd and Connetquot on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Credit: Bob Sorensen
The Floyd girls lacrosse team stepped onto the field with warmup jerseys that read “unfinished business” on the back. It’s a reminder of what they hope to accomplish this playoff season afer falling in the semifinal round the last two seasons.
No. 4 Floyd took care of business on Tuesday, defeating No. 5 Connetquot, 12-8, at home in a Suffolk Class A quarterfinal.
“The girls showed up and did their job,” coach Nicole Alesi said. “They really worked together on all ends as a unit and as a team.”
Six different players scored as Floyd showcased its offensive depth.
“We all trust one another,” said senior midfielder Kayden Meyer, who led the way with four goals, an assist and five draw controls. “We love to move the ball and give everyone a chance to take a shot at goal.”
“She stepped up big today,” Alesi said. “She knew when to go to goal, she knew when to pull out and she’s just an overall leader for this team.”
Even while being face-guarded the entire game, Kayla Gilmore had two goals, two assists and six draw controls. Madison Widecki and Jayla Pimental each had two goals, Natalie Samlihan had two assists and Emma DiMaio added a goal and an assist. Sydney Elizalde had three goals and one assist for Connetquot (11-6).
Floyd goalie Julia Hipperling made 10 saves, with three of them on free positions.
“The goal is to be like a brick wall,” Hipperling said. “I’m lucky to have such a great defense in front of me that’s able to make most of the stops. When things do get through, I just try my best to get in front of the ball and take up as much space as possible.”
“Our defense does a great job of communicating and adjusting together,” Alesi said. “But Julia is the last line of that defense, and she did a great job of just being a wall in the cage today.”
Floyd heads to No. 1 Ward Melville on Friday afternoon for the semifinal round. Is this the year it takes that next step?
“We’ve always been the underdogs going into it,” Meyer said. “But we’re determined to finally finish this through this year. We have unfinished business to take care of.”