Thursday, October 1, 2026
Blowout losses in sports are sometimes easier to handle than a heartbreaking defeat, but West Hempstead girls’ lacrosse has responded as well as coach Suzanne Kenney hoped to an early gut-check — an 11-10 setback to Clarke in overtime in just the second Nassau Conference 4 game of the season.
Since then the Rams, behind prolific scorer Elizabeth Poirot, have won seven of eight and continued their rise in the standings with a 14-8 victory at Great Neck South April 29. Poirot, a junior who a day earlier reached the 50-goal mark for a second straight season with a pair in a non-league win over Holy Trinity, found the back of the net seven times and junior Daniella Healy and sophomore Marisa Koller added four and three goals, respectively, as West Hempstead improved to 9-3 overall; 7-3 in conference play. Poirot also had three assists and reached the 300-career point plateau.
“We have a pretty young team and everyone has bought in,” Kenney said after the Rams surpassed last season’s win total and moved one victory away from double digits for the first time in nearly a decade. “The bulk of our team is juniors and sophomores, and we have two seniors who we’re really going to miss next year.”
Attacker Madison Cates and defender Jade Altidor are the Rams’ seniors. Cates is vital to the transition game and back on the front end after stepping up to fill a void in goal last spring. She’s chipped in three goals. Altidor is a rock-solid defender who along with junior Mikaela Sarmiento, who was sidelined by an injury in 2024, and sophomore Willow Stern, do the bulk of the work in front of new goalie Juliana Poirot, Elizabeth’s younger sister.
Juliana, a freshman, had 68 saves through 12 games. “We didn’t have a middle school team and we haven’t had a JV, so Juliana got thrown to the wolves and has played really well,” Kenney said. “She’s been battling through the mental part of not only being a freshman on varsity but also a goalie. We’ve been really happy with her.”
Elizabeth, who last season had 74 goals and 25 assists, has already eclipsed her assist mark (30) and has 57 goals. “What she’s doing is not easy,” Kenney said. “She’s carrying us offensively. She knows how to get to the cage and is winning a lot of draws and connecting with teammates.”
Healy and Koller, also midfielders, had combined for 60 goals with the latter netting 32. “Marisa has really stepped up her game this year and is playing club,” Kenney said of Koller. “You can definitely see a difference in her game.” Healy is a three-sport athlete (soccer/basketball) and according to Kenney the Rams’ strongest two-way player.
“We had that tough overtime loss to Clarke early, but the girls let it roll off their shoulders and focused on what was ahead,” Kenney said. “Part of the reason we’ve been so successful is we’re battling every game right until the end.”
