Unbeaten and on a mission: Bishop girls’ lacrosse advances to title tilt

Oceanside Collegiate Academy entered the April 22 girls’ Lower State Lacrosse Championship at Bishop England High School with the No. 1 state ranking.

 

But the Bishops were the better team.

 

That summed up the clash of the Lowcountry titans as the Bishops humbled the defending Class AAAA state champs with a 12-2 victory at Jack Cantey Stadium.

 

Bishop England upped its record to 18-0 in convincing fashion. They will face Upper State champ Riverside High School, which advanced with a victory over Christ Church.

 

The state championship is set for 3:30 p.m. on April 27 at Irmo High School. Oceanside Collegiate ended the season with a 15-2 record.

 

The Bishops are on a mission and playing with passion after last spring, when the High School League ruled the Bishops used an ineligible player. That brought the Bishops’ 98-game winning streak and six-year reign as state champs to an end. But the Bishops didn’t cry 96 tears.

 

They still haven’t lost on the playing field since April 10, 2017, when they lost to Charlotte’s Myers Park. That was 2,569 days ago.

 

The last time the Bishops dropped a decision to a Palmetto State school was March 4, 2017, when they lost to J.L. Mann.

 

The Bishops have outscored foes this season by a 305-37 margin and haven’t slowed down in the playoffs. They beat Academic Magnet, Philip Simmons, and OCA by a combined 53-4 margin.

 

Oceanside Collegiate has one state title to its credit, but the Landsharks are still searching for their first-ever victory over the Bishops.

 

The Bishops were in command from start to finish. They took a 5-1 lead after the first stop and pushed the lead to 9-1 at halftime.

 

The Landsharks had no answer for Bishop England’s “Triplets.” Bo Rosato led the way with four first-half goals while finishing with three assists. Nini Clarke chipped in with three goals, while Izzy Woods contributed two goals, an assist, and six ground balls.

 

Henley Bredemann, one of the most talented and reliable players in the state, tallied four ground balls along with Hannah Rosato and Fiona Haggerty.

 

Bishop England coach Jeff Weiner was impressed by keeper Lizzy Tompkins, who held the Landsharks to only two scores.

 

“She was fantastic,” the coach said. “I checked, and I don’t think Oceanside had scored less than 11 goals in a game until tonight.

 

“My defense is really, really good,” Weiner added. “On offense, we did what we had to do.”

 

OTHER LACROSSE NEWS

Meanwhile, the Bishop England boys’ lacrosse team finished with an 11-5 record. The Bishops reached the playoffs and beat James Island High School in the first round but lost to the Landsharks in the round of 16.

 

The Philip Simmons girls had an impressive season with a 14-3 record that included an 8-7 thriller over Hilton Head in the first round of postseason action, but exited the second round of the playoffs losing to Bishop England 22-1.

 

The Iron Horse boys posted a 4-10 record and did not make the playoffs.