Another state championship crown for BE girls' lax team!

Thankfully for Bishop England High School, Jeff Weiner is a girls’ lacrosse coach – and not a weatherman.

The affable Weiner was concerned about Saturday’s forecast as his team prepared to play Chapin at 4 p.m. for the top prize in Class AAAA.

“We played well,” said Weiner, whose team picked up a 15-6 victory to gain its second straight state title. “The thing is, I was more worried about the weather. We were playing during the hottest time of the day. It was 89 degrees and the field was a lot hotter on the turf. We don’t have a lot of subs. I didn’t know how we would respond.”

Respond, the Bishops did. They used an offense that relied on their skills: long passes to move the ball downfield rather than a combination of running and on short passes. This saved the Bishops' legs and sunk the Eagles.

“I think they were tired at the end,” Weiner said. “We rotated our midfielders and we were fresh.”

The Bishops capped the season with a 14-2 record under Weiner, a transplant from the North who is a walking en-cyclopedia of lacrosse knowledge. He’s been at the school for eight years and the first two seasons were lean. They had a transitional year and since then, they have become a fighting machine, posting a 72-13 record, reaching the state finals four times and bringing home the biggest trophy down Interstate 26 the last two years.

Weiner said the final reading on the scoreboard wasn’t an indication of Chapin’s talent.

“I tell you, they are a good team,” Weiner said. “They were good enough to beat J.L. Mann, and J.L. Mann won the (Class) AAAAA state championship.”

The Bishops had five players enter the scoring column, led by Ava Ward, who tallied five goals.

“Ward took a beating,” Weiner said. “She played well. She had a great game. She scored, caused turnover and came up with a lot of ground balls.”

Emma Pizzo and Morgan Roberts both tallied three goals while Grace Ann Carlson scored two times. Sydney Campbell and Camille Garner tallied a goal apiece.

Goalie Molly Niermann gave up five goals and saved 10 shots.

“Anytime you save more than 50 percent, that’s really good,” Weiner said. “Most of the shots come four meters in. It’s not like the boys, where the shots are longer, 20 meters and out.”

Weiner said this championship was just as just as satisfying, but pointed out it’s always toughest to get that first title under your belt.

“To be honest with you, that first state championship, you have to get over that hump,” Weiner said. “We’ve been there, a lot of girls have played in three of these. That’s a big advantage. That experience is a big advantage.”

While Weiner thought the weather might be ominous, it wasn’t. But here is something that future opponents might find ominous.

“We (only) lose two of our goalies and one of our fielders,” Weiner said, referencing his line-up for next season.

That might be a dark cloud for foes, but a bright future for the Bishops.

Daniel Island Publishing

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Daniel Island, SC 29492 

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