Lady Dolphins Dominate Lacrosse Championship

By Katie McFadden

Way to go Lady Dolphins Lacrosse! On Sunday, June 4, the Beach Channel Educational Campus Girls’ Lacrosse Team was named PSAL Champions for the 2023 season.

After a successful undefeated regular season and a 7-6 playoff win against Stuyvesant in the semi-finals, the Dolphins advanced to the finals, facing off against Bayside High School at the field at Curtis High School in Staten Island for the championship game on Sunday. Coach Katie McGoldrick says it was a nailbiter, with the Dolphins taking the lead before Bayside tied it up twice, but it all turned around at the end. “About the last 10 minutes, we managed to pull ahead by two,” Coach McGoldrick said. With a final score of 10-8, the Dolphins declared victory and were named Public School Athletic League Champions for Girls Lacrosse.

The championship win was a team effort with junior Angelina LoBianco scoring four goals, an effort she put up all season, scoring 71 goals in the regular season, making her the highest scoring player in all of PSAL Girls Lacrosse. In the championship, freshman Kahmiya Patnett put in three goals. Senior Britney Viera Garcia scored two and freshman Angeline Serrano scored one. And the season couldn’t have been successful without the work of the rest of the team, and especially their new goalie, Anaya Watler. “It was her first year playing goalie and she had 118 saves throughout the season,” Coach McGoldrick said.

This championship win was especially meaningful as the Beach Channel team hadn’t won since 2010. Last year was a near miss after the team made it to semi-finals with Coach McGoldrick coaching the team for the first year. “For everyone that was on the team last year, this year, to make it there again, and further to the championship, was really exciting, and for everyone new, it was great to watch them grow as a team and players,” she said. “Anyone who hadn’t played last year hadn’t played before, so for so many girls to start at that spot a few months ago and go all the way to the end and win the championship, it’s really amazing.”

Achieving success was a group effort that McGoldrick says the girls nurtured with a support system. “They’re an amazing group. They were so supportive and helpful to one another in the process of learning the game and no one blamed anyone for their lack of experience. It was just really nice to see what each girl could bring to the table and supporting that skill,” McGoldrick said.

And the Lady Dolphins say they couldn’t have done it without McGoldrick at the helm. “Our coach is the most supportive and charismatic person we have ever met,” one player said. “McGoldrick brought Aryana and I onto the team and when we told her we were winning the chip, she had full faith in our team,” another said.

Will they pull it off again next year? Although losing eight graduating seniors, with a good group of underclassmen and hopefully some new additions next year, McGoldrick says, “I’m optimistic.”

Congratulations to the 2023 Beach Channel Educational Campus Girls Lacrosse Team!