At St. Anthony's, 3-peat is so sweet
St. Anthony’s players celebrate the goal of Ava Biancardi during the CHSAA girls lacrosse final on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at Adelphi University. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The word “dynasty” often gets overused in sports, but its use is justified when describing the St. Anthony’s girls lacrosse team.
The Friars have won three straight Class AA state CHSAA titles.
After facing only league opponents in the pandemic-impacted 2021 season, the Friars were eager to play a tougher schedule with the likes of Manhasset, Cold Spring Harbor and Greenwich (Connecticut).
“We wanted to show everyone what St. Anthony’s is all about,” Ava Biancardi said. “We came into the season with high expectations and wanting to beat all these teams, not just the ones in our league.”
St. Anthony’s went 15-3, including 4-3 against non-league opponents, with its three losses coming to Darien (Connecticut), McDonogh (Maryland) and Suffern. The Friars expected better of themselves in those matchups, but those experiences helped them perform at their best when it mattered most.
“We were just happy that we got to go against the best,” Abigail LoCascio said. “By the time the end of the season came, I think we were more prepared and it showed us what we needed to do to be successful.”
They were well-prepared in their 17-5 win over Sacred Heart in the title game on May 17 at Adelphi University. The Friars jumped out in front early and led 8-2 at halftime.
“We wanted to come out on fire and we did a really good job of making space for each other,” said Tess Calabria, who scored five goals in the game. “We were all playing for each other and we fed off each other’s energy that game.”
The blowout was much different from St. Anthony’s two regular-season meetings with Sacred Heart: a 13-10 win on April 13 and an 11-10 victory on May 9.
“We wanted to show that we were better than how we played against them the first two times,” Biancardi said. “We knew it was the last game of the season, so we all came into it wanting to give everything we had.”
While the Friars had their fair share of seniors like Biancardi, LoCascio, Tanner Scarola, Meredith McPharlin and Katherine McAteer play key roles in the title game and throughout the season, they had plenty of contributions from younger players.
“Playing with this group of seniors since we were freshmen, as a class we just wanted to be leaders and make sure that we ended on that positive note,” LoCascio said. “Having these juniors and sophomores that were eager to have the same goal as us definitely helped.”
Sophomores like Calabria, Megan Kenny and Lexie Zenk and juniors Rose Christie and Shae Lembo will be tasked with keeping the dynasty alive.
“The seniors had such a tight bond with the underclassmen and they’re leaving behind such a huge legacy,” Calabria said. “We have really big goals going into next year. We want to beat the teams like McDonogh and Darien and do it for the girls that are leaving this year.”
ROAD TO A STATE TITLE
def. St. John the Baptist, 11-5, in Class AA state CHSAA semifinal
def. Sacred Heart, 17-5, in Class AA state CHSAA final
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
