“I had to put aside my ego for an opportunity to grow the program,” Mandery said. “Here, we’re able to work on things in practice and actually implement them into the game. It’s hard to get better when you’re losing by multiple goals every game.”

Mandery’s decision is paying off.

Riverhead defeated Hampton Bays, 3-2 on Monday afternoon at Hampton Bays High School to improve their developmental league record to 4-1.

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COPYRIGHT BILL LANDON Sophomore Katherine Gonzalez (left) celebrates her goal with teammates. (Credit: Bill Landon) Riverhead goalie Sky Hervan makes a save. (Credit: Bill Landon) Riverhead’s Brianna Banegas battles for the ball. (Credit: Bill Landon) Riverhead senior forward Ellie Cammarota crosses the ball. (Credit: Bill Landon) Senior midfielder Evelyn Velasquez fires upfield for the Blue Waves. (Credit: Bill Landon) Freshman Maggie Morgan fights for possession. (Credit: Bill Landon)

Katherine Gonzalez opened the scoring before Ellie Cammarota scored twice to seal the game for the Blue Waves. 

The three goals matched Riverhead’s entire total for last season. 

“Division I was really hard for us,” Cammarota said. “We had to face girls that have been playing together since they were kids and play travel soccer and everything. To us, we’re all still learning the game, our teammates and everything, so this league is a great place to do that.”

The developmental league was created for teams that may need more time work on their basic skills before competing in more rigorous, multi-classification leagues.

These teams are not eligible for the standard Section XI playoffs but will rather have just a league winner. It is a two-year commitment for any school that decides to register.

A major measuring stick that the team has improved was their non-division matchup against Southampton this season. Riverhead took a 1-0 lead into the first half before being clipped 2-1. Last year, the Blue Waves were routed 5-1.

“Being in this league is definitely helping us get better,” central defender Kelly Lopez said. “We didn’t enjoy the season last year at all. Every game, we lost by a lot, and it’s hard to want to get better and work on things because every game feels the same. We’re blaming one another instead of trying to get better.”

The size of Riverhead’s girls soccer program has grown over the past few years. Riverhead is able to have a varsity and junior varsity team as well as two middle school teams.

“This is another reason why we’re in the developmental league,” Mandery said. “We’re starting to get more and more interest, and I want our core to be strong once we get back to playing in our actual division. My daughter is in the school district and by the time she gets up here, I want us to be at our best. If that means to sacrifice a few years playing at this level so be it. The fact of the matter is, we have to catch up. It’s hard to do that when you don’t have a chance in every game you play.”

Though it is a two-year commitment to be in the developmental league, Mandery hasn’t completely shut off the idea of staying longer.

“Every year we’re going to have to reassess,” Mandery said. “I know we have tremendous athletes out here on the east end. We just need time to get them coached up to the level these other kids out west are. It’s just a matter of time, but I believe in our girls. I know we have what it takes. They’re working so hard to improve, and I believe the future is super bright for those underclassmen on the team now.”

Riverhead returns to action Wednesday, Oct. 1, at East Hampton — the only team in their division that’s beaten them this year.

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Jan. 12: Sachem East 62, Riverhead 47

It’s been a tough season for Riverhead after having high hopes to start the year. The squad hasn’t been able to produce wins despite being competitive in every game they’ve played. The game against Sachem East (4-5 League I, 8-5 overall) was no different. After finishing the first quarter ahead, 14-10, the Blue Waves scuttled away the lead in the second quarter, allowing Sachem East to score 21 points while only scoring nine. Alex Apicella led Sachem East in points scored with 19 and Danny Kozlowski added another 11. Riverhead’s AJ Austin had his best game of the season, scoring almost half of the Blue Waves’ points with 20. After being successful from beyond the arc during most of the season, Riverhead was only able to connect on one three-point basket against Sachem East. The Blue Waves have three games coming up: Jan. 18, Patchogue-Medford at Riverhead at 4:30 p.m.; Jan. 24, Riverhead at William Floyd at 4 p.m.; and Jan. 26, Brentwood at Riverhead at 5 p.m.

Girls Basketball

Jan. 12: Sachem East 53, Riverhead 32

After a very strong start during the season, Riverhead (2-5 League I, 4-5 overall) has taken a small step back, coming up against some of the strongest squads in League I. Sachem East got ahead in this one and kept the Blue Waves off the board the rest of the way. Riverhead managed to score only eight points in every quarter. Defense has been the key to the Blue Waves’ success in the early going and they’ll continue to need to rely on that the rest of the way. The two league wins thus far is an incredible accomplishment for a team that didn’t win any last year. In the game against Sachem East, Logan Pilon led all scorers with 21 points. The junior has been excellent on both sides of the court but will need some help in the scoring column. The Blue Waves have three games coming up: Jan. 18, Riverhead at Pathogue-Medford at 4 p.m.; Jan. 24, William Floyd at Riverhead at 4 p.m.; and Riverhead at Brentwood at 4 p.m.

Jan. 8: Shoreham-Wading River 58, Center Moriches 35

The Wildcats have been slowly coming along this season as the team continues to work through some inconsistencies. With athletes up and down the floor, the best is yet to come. It’s just going to take time. Juliana Mahan, the one returning starter from last year’s Suffolk County championship squad, is becoming a force to be reckoned with as the season progresses. Against Center Moriches, Mahan scored 16 points to lead the team to victory. The Wildcats led the whole way and never looked back. Vanessa Stewart scored 22 points for Center Moriches. Shoreham-Wading River (2-1 League 6, 6-5 overall) have plenty of time to prepare and improve for another run in the Class A playoffs. Upcoming Wildcats games: Jan. 18, John Glenn at Shoreham-Wading River at 5:15 p.m.; Jan. 20, Hampton Bays at Shoreham-Wading River at noon; and Jan. 23, Shoreham-Wading River at Southampton at 6:45 p.m.

Boys Track

Jan. 6: Riverhead and Shoreham-Wading River Section XI Crossover Championships

Riverhead and Shoreham-Wading River competed in the Section XI Crossover Championships, which included all schools in Suffolk County, large and small. Here are some notable results.

Michael Huebner (SWR) ran the 300m dash in 37.87 seconds, which was good for 4th place. Jake Smith (SWR) finished the 600m dash with a time of 1:30.37, which earned 9th place. Jarrell Winston (SWR) placed 9th in the 1000m run with a time of 2:48.15. Noah Wyszomierski (SWR) finished in 6th place in the 1600m run with a time of 4:47.19. James Hise (RIV) finished the 55m hurdles in 15th place with a time of 8.67. Riverhead took 5th place in the 4×800 relay with a time of 9:02.48. Logan Jung (SWR) earned 2nd place with a 6-01 jump in the high jump, and Kobe Boyle (RIV) tied for 7th with a jump of 5-06. Karter Doyle (RIV) finished 8th in the shot put event with a throw of 41-06.

The post Sports Roundup: Jan. 18, 2024 appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Officials at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting discussed the possibility of starting the new team.

Brian Sacks, the director health, physical education and athletics, has been distributing surveys via a Google form to students to gauge interest in the team. The survey began Tuesday.

The idea for the team began when the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and Section XI started a pilot program for the sport, he said.

“So, when we were discussing it again this year, we wanted to see the interest of our district,” Mr. Sacks said.

Mr. Sacks said he’ll go over the student responses in about two weeks. Mr. Sacks also outlined what the next steps would be if he found enough interest from the students.

“The next step after that would be to check all the financial abilities of the district to make sure that we can have a team,” he said. “[Then] contact Section XI and discuss being incorporated this year, and then we’d have to find a coach and move forward in that respect.”

Eight schools participated in girls flag football last spring, ranging from large schools like Longwood to smaller schools like Center Moriches. Newsday reported that 51 teams across the state participated in the pilot program. The New York Jets offered grants to support the program to schools in Suffolk and Nassau, while the Giants and Buffalo Bills did the same for other sections in the state, according to NYSPHSAA. Nike also contributed $100,000 used for uniforms across the state.

Flag football is not yet considered a varsity sport in Section XI.

“The expansion of our girls flag football league brings us one step closer to our goal of having the sport adopted as an official varsity sport in both New York and New Jersey in order to continue providing young women with the opportunity to grow and excel on the field and in their daily lives”, said Jessie Linder, the Jets’ vice president of community relations in a media release in February.

Teams follow USA Flag Football Association Rules, according to Section XI, and play seven on seven. Rules align similar to regular football in many ways — minus the hard contact involved with tackling.

Newsday in July honored the inaugural “All Long Island” team for girls flag football and selected Walt Whitman’s Kate Hoffman as the Suffolk Player of the Year after she threw 35 touchdown passes.

WITH JOE WERKMEISTER

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The Walt Whitman-Riverhead high school football game Saturday at Coach Mike McKillop Memorial Field in Riverhead will get off to an earlier start than usual. Kickoff time is set for 9:30 a.m. Riverhead coach Ed Grassman said the early start is a result of a referee shortage.

Whitman sits in fifth place in Suffolk County Division I with a 3-2 record and 112.000 power-rating points. Riverhead is ninth at 2-3 and 94.200 power-rating points.

The Blue Waves have dropped their last two games, most recently 48-0 against Ward Melville.

Riverhead’s final home game of the year is Sept. 22 against Brentwood and will start at 1:30 p.m. That game will be homecoming and be preceded by the annual parade through downtown.

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