Thursday, October 1, 2026
Sewanhaka and Freeport squared off in a Conference IV girls’ lacrosse bout last Friday, which extended Freeport’s win streak to two games as it beat the host Ravens 13-5.
The Red Devils were led by senior captains Julia Mendoza-Pineyro and Ava Smith. The pair combined for 11 of the 13 goals, with Mendoza-Pineyro netting six and Smith adding five in a performance that highlighted their chemistry and leadership.
“Those two, they can do it all,” Freeport coach Lauren Chimeri said. “This is their fourth year together and they just communicate so well. They’re leaders on the field, so the rest of the girls look up to them. They’re amazing.”
Mendoza-Pineyro scored the game’s first three goals in four minutes. She scored at 9:56, 8:59 and 5:45, but Sewanhaka was able to answer with two quick ones of its own. Junior Alexandra Salazar scored at 3:56 and 3:14 to pull within one.
“Alex thrives off the energy, so I think she felt the crowd,” Sewanhaka coach Brianne Giuliano said of Salazar. “She felt motivated and that’s how she got her two goals.”
Mendoza-Pineyro found the back of the net once more before the end of the first quarter at the 2:11-minute mark, to take a 4-2 lead after the first frame. It was all Red Devils in the second quarter, as Smith scored three and Mendoza-Pineyro notched one.
“We hadn’t found that team chemistry yet, we weren’t connecting as much, but we finally were able to find it and it all came together,” Mendoza-Pineyro said.
All four goals came in the final eight minutes of the first half: 8:05 from Smith, 4:00 from Mendoza-Pineyro and 3:27 and 1:05 from Smith.
“I think that we really came together as a team,” Smith said. “We just came off a good win on Wednesday, so I think that really brought us together, and we all hustled very well today. I’m proud of the team.”
Ravens junior Jade Young and junior captain Athena Thomaidis each scored in the third quarter, with Young’s goal coming at 3:50 and Thomaidis’ coming at 2:43. Sewanhaka’s fifth goal came off the stick of junior Zoe Knibb in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Talia Bossous and Knibb have also carved out roles for themselves.
“For our progression, it shows me as a coach that we really do thrive off of the high energy,” Giuliano said regarding the team’s second-highest goal total of the season. “Going into this game, we were excited; it was a home game. I think going forward, this shows me that we are ready for the next competition. We’re going to keep this energy up high.”
The other two goal scorers for Freeport (2-6) came from junior Jazline Bautista and Jolenny Gil Nunez. Freshman goalie Camila Rodriguez made “great saves,” Smith said, as she notched eight.
“She did great,” Chimeri said of Rodriguez. “She gets nervous in the beginning and then she steps in and does her thing. I think every day she gets a little bit better.”
Sewanhaka (0-6) will look for its first win this Friday on the road against Jerricho. Freeport has its sights set on a three-game win streak, but Island Trees stands in its way also on Thursday.
