A handful of standout returnees from Bayport Blue-Point’s second girls lacrosse state championship team in three years will look to lead the Phantoms on another deep playoff run this spring.
In 2025, BBP claimed the New York State Class C championship with a convincing 17-7 victory over Queensbury (Section I) at SUNY Cortland to cap a 21-win campaign. Now-senior Kailey Bruckner had a hat trick in that game and finished the season with 28 goals. She’s keying this year’s offense along with classmates Sara Richardt and Eva Carvahlo, and junior Olivia Brady, who netted 38 a year ago,
“Last year was special,” said coach Ryan Gick, who lost half a dozen starters to graduation. “It was a difficult road and we beat some really tough teams along the way.
“We lost six impactful seniors who played important positions,” he added. “It’s not like we’re starting over, but it’s going to take time for all the pieces to come together.”
The Phantoms were tested out of the gate by a perennial Nassau County powerhouse and emerged with a 10-9 victory on March 23, with the Towson University-bound Bruckner scoring the game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining.
“She’s a do-it-all midfielder who’s aggressive, physical and fast and an outstanding dodger,” Gick said of Bruckner, a captain along with Richardt and senior shutdown defender Shannon Carney.
It’s no surprise that Brady, another dynamic two-way middie, is off to a huge start with several five-goal games in the first four. She’ll play at Clemson in two years. “Olivia is a tremendous off-the-ball player who’s difficult to stop,” Gick said of Brady, who scored six times on March 26 in an 18-14 win over Shoreham-Wading River.
Richardt, headed to Binghamton, had 30 goals and 20 assists in 2025. “She’s a very strong lefty dodger who not only scores, but creates opportunities for others,” Gick said.
On attack, the Phantoms feature right-handed Cavalho, who quarterbacks the offense with her vision and stick skills, and junior lefty Liliana May, a first-year starter primed for a breakout year, Gick said.
Carney, also bound for Binghamton, anchors a defense that includes seniors Payton Weybrecht and Abigail Bishop. “Shannon’s our top defender and is a game-changer,” Gick said. “She’s dynamic one-on-one, forces turnovers and keys our transition game.” Weybrecht and Bishop are rock steady in the zone scheme, closing gaps and limiting opponents getting to the cage.
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