Emma McLam leads team effort as Northport girls lacrosse again wins Suffolk Class A title
Northport's Emma McLam races down the field during the Suffolk Class A girls lacrosse final between Northport and Smithtown East at LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Emma McLam is just one of Northport’s options.
Anyone can score when the Tigers have the ball and once they started possessing it consistently, their dominant offense took over.
“It’s as simple as whoever possesses the ball for us can score,” said McLam, a senior.
McLam had three goals and two assists and helped No. 2 Northport to a 15-13 win over No. 5 Smithtown East for its fourth straight Suffolk Class A title, Wednesday at Stony Brook University.
“We’re used to this position and that comes from the players that came before us,” McLam said. “We’ve all been bred into this winning culture. We all learned from those girls about the importance of chemistry and playing together.”
Northport, the reigning Class A Long Island champion, will look to defend its title against Massapequa at 6 p.m. on Sunday at Adelphi University.
Northport trailed 8-7 entering halftime and struggled to win draws against Smithtown East’s Ava Arceri. McLam is a part of Northport’s draw team, comprised of Grace McCarthy, Madison Dunleavy and Kennedy Radziul that changed the game in the second half.
The Tigers won each of the first four draws in to start the half and scored on all four possessions. McLam scored her second goal off an assist from Kate Atkinson to give Northport an 11-8 lead with 16:35 left.
“[Arceri] is incredible,” Northport coach Carol Rainson-Rose said. “Coming into the game, we knew if we won some draws, we could control the game. We controlled the whole second half with that.”
Atkinson scored her fourth goal off an assist from Haleigh Greenberg, giving Northport a 13-10 lead with just under 12 minutes to play. Atkinson added two assists and Greenberg had three goals and two assists.
“We try to look for the best opportunity rather than the first one,” Greenberg said. “If we keep working the ball around, it makes it almost an easy option, even though we’re working hard for it.”
Arceri finished with four goals and one assist and Jenna Soto scored six goals for Smithtown East, which finishes the season 12-6.
Northport (17-2) had seven scorers, including Radziul, who gave the Tigers a 15-11 lead off an assist from McLam with 5:22 remaining. Payson Hedges scored two goals and Julia Huxtable and Christina Lauro each added a goal.
“We’re really versatile,” Atkinson said. “There’s no weak link on our team and everyone mends together really well.”
