BE girls lacrosse players share national tournament title

A South Carolina girls’ high school all-star lacrosse team, which had a heavy dose of Bishop England talent, won the Blue Division of the USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament. The event featured more than 800 of the top high school girls’ lacrosse players in the country.

 

The Palmetto State stars won their division with a 4-0 record with victories over teams from New York, Arizona and Northern California in the preliminary round, and then topped Florida Gulf Coast 10-6 in the championship of the event, which was played in Towson, Maryland, the site of the 2021 NCAA Lacrosse championships

 

The South Carolina team had a roster of 22 players and the Lowcountry was well represented with the seven Bishop England players: Frankie Poch, Olivia Head, Elisabeth Tausig, Ryley Dengler, Henley Bredemann, Evelyn Kitchin and Bo Rosato.

 

The other players from the Lowcountry who played in the tourney included Kayla Fergus and Anne Edens from Lucy Beckham High School, Ava deLyra and Madison Woods of Wando and Claire Oldford of Porter-Gaud.

 

In the Blue Division championship match, Bredemann, a Bishop England rising sophomore, dazzled all in attendance with five goals to lead the Palmetto State to the championship. Gulf Coast scored first, but Bredemann answered with back-to-back goals and South Carolina never trailed again.

 

Bredemann’s BE teammate Anne Edens added a pair of goals for South Carolina.

 

Bishop England coach Jeff Weiner, who was on the selection committee that picked the all-star team, had high praise for Bredemann, who helped Bishop England High School win its fifth consecutive state championship this spring with four goals in the state championship against Oceanside Collegiate Academy.

 

“She started from day 1,” Weiner said of Bredemann. “I think she wanted to play midfield, but we moved her to attack. She’s a big tough kid who improved throughout the season and then had the game of her life in the championship in Maryland.”

 

Weiner is a Long Island native who moved to the Lowcountry about a decade ago. In 2013 he coached BE in the state championship and then flew to New York the next day to help his daughter, Abigail Zeltmann, coach the Hauppauge High School team.

Hauppauge is located in Suffolk County and is one of the top teams on Long Island.

 

His experience up north has helped many Lowcountry teams become better programs. He also coached at Wando and is an advocate of the sport despite your school colors.

 

“This was a big step for South Carolina, but we still have a way to go,” Weiner said of high school lacrosse in the South vs. North. “But the teams and talent here is definitely getting better.”

 

Meanwhile, the South Carolina High School Lacrosse Coaches Association announced its all-state teams and BE is well represented.

 

Tausig was named first team all-state attack while Victoria Roe and Coco Pampu were all-state defense. Lizzy Tompkins was all-state as a keeper.

 

Bishop England’s second-team all-state selections included Kitchin, Poch, Dengler, and Annie Dhabliwa and Bredemann.

 

Two players from the state champion BE boys’ team earned all-state: Robert Pilla and Dennis Treasurer.