St. Dominic girls lacrosse determined to make program history

This St. Dominic girls lacrosse team was determined to reset the standard. No longer did the players want to be just another team in the program. They wanted to be the team in the program’s history.

And the only way to do that was by bringing home a state title.

St. Dominic defeated the Nichols School (Buffalo), 13-4, in the state CHSAA ‘A’ final in Buffalo May 22 to deliver the first state title in program history. St. Dominic finished with a 14-3 record.

“That was a big driving force behind our motivation building up to it,” junior midfielder Meg Morrisroe said. “Everyone was excited to kind of be the pioneers for this program.”

St. Dominic had a strong season in 2021, defeating Holy Trinity, 9-8, in the NSCHSAA ‘A’ final. But with no state championship to follow because of the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Dominic was unable to test itself against the rest of the state.

But once official word came out in January that there would be a CHSAA state lacrosse championship this spring, coach Christina Esposito knew her team would be ready.

“I remember walking into the open gym in January and telling the girls we could go all the way this year and our final goal is going to be ‘The Road to Buffalo,’ ” Esposito said. “So that was really our saying all year.”

St. Dominic challenged larger schools this spring, including victories over Kellenberg and Holy Trinity. The Bayhawks’ three losses came to St. Anthony’s, Sacred Heart and Floyd – three of the top programs on Long Island this spring.

Adriana Mavlios had 56 goals and 34 assists, McKenna Jacobs had 54 goals and 22 assists and Morrisroe had 53 goals and 27 assists and dominated on the draws this spring. That trio was integral to St. Dominic’s success all season.

“We really work well together and we know how to complement each other,” Morrisroe said. “After every play, we always huddle up and see what we can do for the next play and we are always supporting each other. We know each other’s strengths and really set each other up well.”

Jacobs, who had six goals and three assists in the title game, will never forget that final whistle on the field in the state final. 

“I just exploded with my thoughts,” Jacobs said. “We started running to our goalie and people started crying. It was just so emotional and I was so close to crying and it was just such a happy moment.”

This year’s team was focused throughout the season on making program history. They reminded one another of that before the state final.

“That’s really what we said to them a lot before the game is to do it for yourself but we said every time you go back to this school, you’ll always be the first team to ever win a state championship,” Esposito said. “So that’s really what made this special and they wanted to be a part of history.”

The bus ride back to Long Island turned into a 10-hour party for St. Dominic, finally arriving at the campus at 11:45 p.m. The trip back from Buffalo included some fallen trees, road blockages and pit stops, but nothing could derail the Bayhawks from their championship celebration.

“We were raising the trophy on the streets of the school at midnight,” Esposito said. “It felt like a national championship, honestly.”