Bishop England stifles Chapin girls in lacrosse title game

Bishop England coach Jeff Weiner was adamant about why his girls’ lacrosse team won its second consecutive state championship on Saturday.

“We’re the only ones in the state to play (defense),” Weiner said after his team beat Chapin 15-6 for the Class 4A title at Cecil Woolbright Field. “We play a defense that nobody else plays, so they don’t see it. We put pressure on the ball. That’s our job. We focus 75 percent of our practices on defense because that’s what wins.”

Bishop England goalie Molly Niermann stopped several shots as the Bishops controlled possession and limited the the Eagles’ chances.

Chapin coach Jen Green knew beating the defending champs would be difficult. The teams played earlier this season with Bishop England winning 10-3.

“We knew going in it was going to be a tough game,” Green said. “They were very good defensively. They played hard and wanted it. We wanted it too, but things didn’t come together for us.”

Eden Ellison, who missed the first two playoff games with an injury, scored the first of her four goals with 15:16 remaining in the first half. That brought Chapin within 3-2, but the Eagles would go more than 23 minutes without scoring.

Bishop England (14-2) scored six unanswered goals to take control. Emma Pizzo started the streak, Morgan Roberts added one before Ava Ward scored twice in the final 1:40 of the half to give the Bishops a 7-2 lead.

Grace Ann Carlson added two more goals to make it 9-2 before Ellison scored again for the Eagles.

“They kill clock a lot and spread you out,” Ellison said. “That’s one of our downfalls.”

Ellison and Jordan Green scored goals less than a minute apart to get Chapin (13-4) within 11-5, but that was as close as the Eagles would get.

“We made it this far and that’s a huge accomplishment in and of itself. I’m proud of them,” Green said. “Our next goal is to win it next year.”

Ellison, a sophomore, was pleased with what the Eagles accomplished this season.

“I’ve never felt so excited and happy,” she said. “It’s a big accomplishment. We practiced hard for two hours every day so even though we didn’t win, I think we accomplished a lot.”

This story was originally published April 29, 2017 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Bishop England stifles Chapin girls in lacrosse title game."