UNDENIED. UNDEFEATED. UNDISPUTED.

Any questions? Didn’t think so.

 

The Bishop England girls’ lacrosse team answered the challenge, proving once and again that it is the best squad in the Palmetto State. The Bishops gained a 21-3 victory over Oceanside Collegiate Academy in the April 30 Class AAAA state championship.

 

The victory gave the Bishops their sixth-straight state title and offered more proof that the Bishops rule the state. They finished the season with an undefeated 18-0 record and beat every squad on the schedule by at least 10 points.

 

Wait a minute, casual lacrosse observers might insist. Bishop England is the top Class AAAA team in the state, they might point out. Can they compete at the Class AAAAA level?

 

The answer: of course. The Bishops beat every Class AAAAA team that reached this spring’s Final Four. And they beat eventual Class AAAAA state champ Wando by a 15-1 decision.

 

Coach Jeff Weiner, the architect of this masterpiece, didn’t even hesitate to rank this team with past BE juggernauts. The 2022 team is the best and most dominating team the Daniel Island school has ever produced.

 

“This team has more balance,” Weiner said. “It has more moving parts. We have good depth and are able to move players around. Everybody comes here wanting to play attack or midfielder. But what makes us good is the way we play defense. We have to fit the talent to our needs. As a coach, I have to come up with the right chemistry.”

 

It’s hard to imagine a team better than the 2021 BE edition that went 18-0, won a state championship by outscoring foes, 325-34.

 

But this spring the Bishops did just that. They matched the record and claimed another title, but outscored foes 337-27.

 

Of the 27 goals allowed, the Bishops surrendered 13 to Mount Pleasant teams. Oceanside Collegiate scored nine of those goals, including six in a regular-season loss. Lucy Beckham tallied three and Wando chipped in one. 

 

April 30’s match, played at Irmo High School, was a rematch of last year’s state final. The Bishops came out on top last spring by a 25-2 margin.

 

It was pretty much more of the same as the Bishops extended their winning streak to 82 games. Sophomore Bo Rosato gave the Bishops a 1-0 lead with the first of her six goals. The Landsharks managed to tie the score at 1-1, but BE was too much the rest of the game.

 

Elisabeth Tausig, one of four seniors in the Bishops’ starting rotation, tallied five goals and four assists while classmate Frances Poch scored three goals and handed out four assists. Junior Evelyn Kitchin contributed four goals and two assists. The other two senior starters are Olivia Head and Ryley Dengler.

 

The 72-year-old Weiner will return for the 2023 season.

 

“I like to stay busy,” said Weiner, whose day job used to be an electrical engineer. “I retired when I was 54, so I always look to stay busy. We have some good players coming back. I’ll be back. I know no one will cry for me.”