Megan Magill drives Center Moriches past Babylon
Center Moriches attack Megan Magill looks to pass as Babylon defense Mackenzie Busch stays close during a Suffolk Division II girls lacrosse game on Wednesday at Center Moriches. Credit: George A Faella
The Center Moriches girls lacrosse team is a defending county championship program. Yet, the Red Devils don’t feel they’ve garnered the respect that comes with that position.
Host Center Moriches defeated Babylon, 20-6, in its final Suffolk Division II girls lacrosse contest Wednesday. Now, the Red Devils shift their focus to defending their Suffolk Class D championship after winning their first county title in program history last season.
“I think winning counties again would prove that it wasn’t just a one-time thing and we can keep this going,” said Caitlin Noack, who had eight saves. “To prove it wasn’t just the seniors last year — it was everyone.”
“We want to show it wasn’t just luck,” Megan Magill added. “It was the hard work we put in all season and we’re going to go for the same outcome.”
Magill, who scored the winning goal in last season’s 8-7 overtime victory over Port Jefferson in the Suffolk Class D final, has continued off last postseason's success all spring. She had six goals and three assists Wednesday.
“I felt really good, I’m not going to lie,” Magill said. “It’s all about teamwork but it definitely felt nice to contribute to the team in the win.”
Center Moriches (8-6) scored the first five goals of regulation and opened a 6-1 lead 7:30 into the contest. The Red Devils led 12-5 at halftime and outscored Babylon, 8-1, in the second half.
“From the beginning of the season to now, you can just see how much better we’ve gotten with cutting and moving, spreading the ball and placing our shots,” said Isabella Burke, who had five goals and four ground balls. “We’ve worked super hard to come this far.”
Lauren Spivak added four goals, Payton Noack, Caitlin’s sister, had two goals and an assist, Taylor Metzler had a goal and two assists and Charlotte Castiglione had a goal and an assist in the win. Sophia Conti had three goals for Babylon (5-9).
Center Moriches enters the Suffolk Class D playoffs as the top seed. The Red Devils want to prove last season wasn’t a one-off and remain atop the classification.
“We knew [Babylon would] show up ready to play but we also knew we’re a legitimate team,” coach Paul Raimondi said. “We’ve been fighting an uphill battle since winning counties last year with people saying it was a lucky year, so these girls have had a lot to prove. And beating a team in our league and scoring 20, I think it’s a good statement game for us to prove we’re ready to run with the big teams.”