Suffolk County Student Athlete Of The Week: St. Anthony’s Sophia Enea

SOUTH HUNTINGTON, NY — Lacrosse has taken Sophia Enea from varsity experience as a middle schooler at Sachem East to St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, the U15 USA level and a championship captain role at the Nilly Games.

This summer, Patch is looking back at the student-athletes who helped define the 2025-26 sports seasons across Suffolk County. This week’s Suffolk County Student Athlete of the Week is Enea, a Holbrook resident and rising sophomore midfielder at St. Anthony’s.

Enea did not fall in love with lacrosse right away, but practices, camps and teams became part of her routine before lacrosse became her passion.

“I didn’t really want to play it at all," Enea told Patch. "Then I slowly fell in love with it.”

Enea, 15, played varsity lacrosse at Sachem East as a seventh and eighth grader before attending St. Anthony’s. Playing with older athletes early, she said, helped prepare her for the level she would eventually face.

“Playing with older girls — obviously, I was much tinier, younger — but working on my speed really showed my dodging,” Enea said. “Just my IQ of the game really helped.I saw that even though I’m younger, even though I haven’t maybe played as long as all these other girls, I could obviously do it and show how good I really was."

Her mother, Jen Enea, said Sophia began playing lacrosse in kindergarten. Jen, a physical education teacher at Bayport-Blue Point and former athlete herself, said she thought the sport would be a good fit for her daughter because of her size and work ethic.

She said the family wanted Sophia to have “a more challenging schedule” and be around teammates who would push her every day.

Sophia said the biggest adjustment at St. Anthony’s was the skill level. She said the school challenged her not only as an athlete, but as a student and person.

“St. Anthony’s is a lot different from other high schools, only because it works you a lot more, it challenges you a lot more, and you really have to believe in yourself and push through no matter what you’re doing,” Enea said

Enea describes her style as fast and team-first and her approach has placed her on major stages.

“I really like to play fast,” she said. “I like moving the ball. I like celebrating assists. I don’t believe that one person can make a whole team. It’s multiple.”

Jen said Sophia was selected for the U15 USA team last year after a regional tryout. In September, Sophia represented the United States at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Maryland, where the team played against Canada.

“I was really honored to play for such an amazing team, especially not knowing everyone and knowing everything going into it,” she said.

What stood out most, she said, was the connection with players from different backgrounds and styles.

“It’s really different,” Enea said. “Everyone comes from a different background, and everyone has a different style of playing. But lacrosse is lacrosse, and playing all together was just so much fun.”

Enea also competed at The NILLY, a lacrosse draft invitational powered by Lacrosse Masters that provides college coach exposure and NIL opportunities for players.

Enea said she was asked to be a captain, drafted her own team and helped lead the team to a championship.

The run did not start easily. After the first day, Enea said, her team was 1-2 and entered the playoffs as the last seed.

“It was really exciting to see us come from literally the bottom of the playoff bracket to winning it all,” she said. “The girls I picked, my teammates, we really came together. I knew most of them, but the few girls I didn’t know well, they really showed up and showed out. Everyone played as a team, and it was so much fun.”

Enea has also played for the Long Island Yellow Jackets since second grade. She said she has grown up with many of the same teammates through the travel program, building years of summer memories and friendships.

Enea credits St. Anthony’s head coach Darcy Messina with helping her development, and also pointed to Alexis Curcio of the Yellow Jackets and longtime Yellow Jackets coach Pete Freeman as important influences.

While Enea used to play soccer, volleyball and basketball, she stopped after eighth grade to focus fully on lacrosse.

As she enters her sophomore year, Enea said one of the hardest parts of being a student-athlete is balance, especially with recruiting ahead. Her goals remain on both her own growth and helping the players around her.

“Definitely highlighting myself on my skills, but especially highlighting my teammates,” she said. “Anything I could do, if it’s hard work in between the 30s, an assist, a goal or draw circle, anything to help.”

Her advice to younger aspiring athletes is to take everything one step at a time.

“Enjoy the moment,” Enea said. “Don’t rush it because when it’s over — you’ll really miss it.”