Smithtown West vs West Islip County Finals Preview

This afternoon at 3pm at Stony Brook University, the Suffolk Class B County Final will feature top seeded West Islip against third seeded Smithtown West playing for an opportunity to represent Suffolk County in the Long Island Championship. Neither team was playing this deep into the season last year, but have had strong 2023 seasons which has put each of them in a position to still be playing in late May. West Islip will be looking to win their first county championship since 2018 back when they were in Class A, while Smithtown West aims to make history and win their first ever county championship.

For the Lions, they went 12-4 overall during the regular season, earning a spot in the semifinals where they defeated Comsewogue 10-5. All season long West Islip has been led by a core group of upperclassmen, balanced by supremely talented young guns that have turned this team into a contender. Beginning with their Colorado bound senior attacker Jaimey Hill, she’s been the driving force as the quarterback of their offense, with 40 goals and 31 assists for 71 points to lead the team. Hill has had plenty of help from fellow upperclassmen Sarah Mitchell and Carley Sgueglia from the midfield who have a combined 46 points on the season. Shifting to their young guns, midfielders Ava Obloj and Francesca Tofano have been two of the top players on the island in the Class of 2026, having impactful seasons in a variety of ways whether its scoring, winning draw controls, or defensively and clearing the ball. Obloj’s 58 points and Tofano’s 56 are good for second and third on the team respectively. Defensively West Islip has allowed only 96 goals on the season which is the third fewest among Suffolk County teams, and huge part of that has been due to the level of play from defenders Courtney Xippolitos, Kaelynn Sirizzotti, and Madison Nicolosi, along with sophomore goalie Makenna Gagliardi who has a 51% save percentage. As for Smithtown West, this will be their first encounter with West Islip this season, and have reached this point after going 9-7 during the regular season and earning playoff wins against West Babylon in the opening round, followed by an 8-5 upset win over second seeded ESM in the semis. The Bulls are a youthful team filled with talent among the 2025 and 2026 class that has elevated the program, taking it to new heights. Among their top sophomores offensively is midfielder Jolie Schiavo who has a team high 45 points on the season and is key on the draw circle. Adding to their top flight talent at attack is sophomore Kate Theofield who has missed time this season due to injury but has come back in a big way and had four goals and two assists in their first round playoff game against West Babylon. They also have a trio of freshman that haven’t shied away from the moment in Alyssa Lorefice, Ashley Mennella, and Ashynn Renkowski. Though the team has a majority of underclassmen that have sparked them, two of their upperclassmen that will likely play a big role in this game are seniors Madison Driscoll and Laura Luikart. The two have tallied a combined 51 points on the season. One absence for the Bulls in this game is Isabella Dantuono at attack who had 30 points before going down with a season ending injury. On the defensive side for Smithtown West, it’s also led by the youth in sophomore Grace Theofield who has a team high 18 caused turnovers and could be an X factor on that side of the ball if they are going to prevail. The goaltending will be anchored by freshman Mirabella Marciano who has been their starter all season long and could also be a difference maker in a game that has a chance to be a tight, low scoring matchup.