Girls lacrosse spotlight: Bellport's Ava Salinas is a dual threat

Ava Salinas was tasked with scoring goals her entire lacrosse life before attending Bellport High School. But, when the chance to play on the varsity with her older sister emerged if she switched to goalie, Salinas — a freshman at the time —  happily traded her regular lacrosse stick for a goalkeeper’s one.

Initially, Salinas thought it would lead to one season in goal before returning to the rest of the field for her final three seasons. After a few games in the cage, she changed her mind.

“It was really scary, but I thought it would give me a different perspective [than] a field player,” Salinas said. “I thought I would go right back to attack after my freshman year but, after I got the opportunity, I just stuck with it and I’ve loved it ever since.”

But, for her senior year, Salinas has the rare chance to do both.

After graduating the bulk of last year’s starting attack, Bellport coach Courtney Pabst offered the senior a unique opportunity. Pabst, who took over in Salinas’ sophomore year, knew about her past as a field player and asked if she wanted to play both attack and goalie.

“It was a no-brainer,” Salinas said. “I was like, ‘Let’s have fun with it. I’ll do it.’ ”

Salinas, who is committed to patrol the cage at Old Dominion, plays the first half on attack and second half in goal. She had 15 goals, eight assists and 53 saves in her senior season. She had at least one point and one save in 10 of 16 games this season for Bellport (6-10).

“I think it energizes the team in just a different way,” Pabst said. “It’s not something they’ve seen before, so seeing her thrive on the offensive end, it’s exciting not only for her but for the girls on the team. And I do think it kind of serves as a spark for us.”

Salinas also believes playing attack has helped her in goal. It allows her to better anticipate how opposing attackers will try to score . . . after doing so herself just a few minutes prior.

“I think being an attacker has even helped me as a goalie, which is really weird, but it’s given me the perspective of shooting on myself,” Salinas said. “When I look at a goalie, I know their weaknesses, where to shoot, how to shoot, if I should throw a fake, but it’s definitely been an experience for sure.”

Reaching the century mark together

Peyton Logue-Boyd and Lily Krollage were determined to achieve a milestone together at Babylon.

The juniors and close friends knew they were both at 99 varsity points in a game against Deer Park on April 3. The two ran a play near the 8-meter mark where Krollage set a pick and rolled toward the goal — like they have many times throughout their lives. Logue-Boyd hit Krollage with a pass, she scored, then jumped into Logue-Boyd’s arms as they enjoyed reaching 100 varsity points on the same play.

“They’ve been lifelong friends,” coach Chris Ryan said. “When you grow up playing with someone your whole life and then to be able to share that moment together is amazing. They are just two great kids [that were] able to have an accomplishment together that they’ll be able to always remember.”

That's a lot of saves!

Long Island had a pair of goalies reach the 700-save milestone, which surpasses the most saves in state history entering this season, according to the state public school girls lacrosse record book.

Port Jefferson goalie Emma Batter ends her high school career with 715 saves and Cold Spring Harbor goalie Maya Soskin has 700 saves entering the playoffs. Allie Hanlon, who graduated from West Genesee last year and now plays for Syracuse, made 665 saves, according to the state record book. Batter is committed to play at Mercy.

Cold Spring Harbor, the defending state Class D champion, begins its postseason run on Monday, as Soskin will look to add to her total and deliver the Seahawks another state title before playing at Florida.