Jenna Soto tallies nine goals, two assists in Smithtown East girls lacrosse win over Bay shore

Jenna Soto reached 100 points this season for the second straight year but under far different circumstances. Last year, Soto was a part of arguably the best tandem on Long Island with herself and Ava Arceri, who was an All-Long Island selection and is now playing at Stanford. Without Arceri on the field, all the defense’s attention is on Soto. The Smithtown East senior attack not only knows it, she uses it to her advantage.

“There’s no limit to my game, I’m never going to stop and I’m never going to stop putting the ball in the back of the net,” Soto said. “They are in a faceguard and they think they are shutting me down but in my head, no faceguard is going to stop my desire to win and help bring my team the furthest we can go.”

Soto has proven that throughout the year and ended the regular season with one of her finest performances. Soto had nine goals and two assists to lead Smithtown East to a 14-7 victory over host Bay Shore in Suffolk Division I girls lacrosse contest heading into the Suffolk Class A playoffs on Saturday.

Soto ended the regular season with 74 goals and 36 assists in 16 games after having 75 goals and 29 assists in 18 games last year.

“This year I had to really step into my own shoes and bring out the player I really am and show that I can play alongside one of the greatest players I’ve ever played with or I could play alone and I’m still going to do me,” Soto said. “I’m still going to work together for my team to help us win games and do it as a team.”

Smithtown East (8-8, 8-6 Suffolk I) went on an 8-0 scoring run after Bay Shore (6-10, 6-8) tied the score at 6 after scoring the first three goals of the second half. Soto scored five of the goals during that run.

“Teams send double and triple (teams) to her and their coaches are looking at us like, ‘How did she even get through that?’ coach BrieClaire Sheehy said. “But it really comes down to her speed, agility, quickness, IQ, just the whole thing. She reads the game so fast so she’s able to adjust really quickly herself.”

Jenna Mehlinger added three goals and five assists, Alexis Savage had two goals and Grace McDonald had 10 saves, including her 150th stop of the season, in the win.

“They are huge pieces in our offense and I think sometimes they forget how good they are,” Soto said. “They were really able to score and put points on the board and that really helped us win the game.”

Soto, who was a second-team All-Long Island selection last season and is committed to play at Northwestern, said lacrosse isn’t an individual sport and credited her teammates for both her statistical success and the team’s ability to return to the playoffs. She’s also proud of reaching 100 points for the second straight season, a feat rarely accomplished in girls lacrosse.

“I train every day and I make sure I’m at the top of my game, so I think that getting those 100 points is not something that’s a surprise for me,” Soto said. “I’ve worked for that. The points come with my play and the way I play, the points are going to add up. One hundred points back-to-back seasons is a great accomplishment for me, but I’m working for more and pushing for more and I want to do as much as I can to push to the next level because I just see no limit.”