Brookline Rolls into Division 1 Tournament

By Eliot Schickler

The Brookline girls lacrosse team is on a roll and chose the best time of year to find its groove.

Brookline closed out the regular season with three straight wins and four of its last five games to finish the regular season at 10-10 and head into the Division 1 State Tournament as the 22nd seed. By ending up as the 22nd-seed, the Warriors will play at the 11th-seeded King Phillip Regional High, who is 16-4, on Friday, May 30 at 6:15 p.m.

After splitting the next-to-last week of the regular season with an 11-8 win at Milton High on May 13 and a 21-1 loss at vaunted Wellesley High, who finished the regular season at 16-4 and is ranked second in the Division 1 Power Rankings, Brookline found its groove at the friendly confines of Downes Field. The Warriors opened the week with a 12-10 home victory over Boston Latin High on May 19.

Following its triumph over Boston Latin, Brookline had arguably its best win of the season with a 10-5 verdict over rival Newton North High on May 20.

“The Newton North game was really exciting, and I'm so proud of how hard our team worked to come up with that win,” Warriors Coach Julianna Molloy said. “They really just decided as a group that they wanted to win that game, and they all did their part to make sure our team accomplished our goal. It was a total team effort. This definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into the tournament. We're excited to play today.”

Beating the Newton North Tigers avenged an April 15, 19-15 road loss at Newton North’s Dickinson Stadium. Moreover, the Tigers finished the regular season at 11-6, and they’re ranked 11th in the power rankings.

Newton North led 3-2 at the break, but Brookline took over in the second half. Warriors senior tri-captain Birdie Hawkins set up sophomore Serena Yankowitz for the tying goal, and the captain
scored two straight goals to give the hostesses a 5-3 lead, and they never looked back after that. The
southpaw Hawkins then set up sophomore Lily Kleinbaum’s goal to make it 6-3.

Yankowitz missed her freshman year because of an injury, but has been clutch this year. She had the game-winning goal at Newton South on May 3 in a 9-8 victory.

“Serena Yankowitz has also been a huge impact player for us this season, and has proven herself to be one of the most impactful players on our team,” Molloy said.

Being the strong team they are, the Tigers mounted a comeback and scored two straight goals to make it 6-5, which was the score after three quarters, and they had a chance to tie it to start the fourth quarter, but sophomore goalie Carinn Bueno preserved the lead with a save. Freshman Gigi Hawkins, who had one of her best games on defense, cleared the ball. Ultimately, senior tri-captain Maggie Teahan had the ball and sent a dime to the elder Hawkins, who scored and shifted the momentum back to the Warriors.

“We were incredibly determined to beat North due to our rivalry, and we knew we could beat them,” Teahan said. “We maintained high intensity the whole game, and I think they lit a fire under us. We started to connect passes, and our defense started to be more aggressive in the second half, which definitely contributed to the win.”

Teahan, who broke two school records this year, scored the next goal to give Brookline breathing room. A First Team All-Bay State Conference selection in 2023 and 2024, she’s the school’s all-time leader in goals (243) and points (302), has 61 goals this year, and leads the team in draw controls and caused turnovers.

“I owe it to my teammates; they motivate and encourage me, and they always seem to find me on the field,” Teahan said. “They make it look easy.”

Yankowitz made it 9-5 on a free possession goal. Brookline closed out the scoring on Teahan’s goal off a dime from Kleinbaum.

“Beating North showed us what we are capable of as well as the level we can play at,” Teahan said.
“We matched their energy and kept them on their toes – something we want to remember in the playoffs.”

The Warriors closed out the regular season with a 9-8 win over Framingham High on May 22. Brookline started strong and had an 8-1 lead in the torrential downpour, with Kleinbaum getting the hostesses off to a solid start with three first-half goals. Teahan and Birdie Hawkins also did their magic in igniting the offense, and for the second straight game, senior tri-captain defender Sydney Bueno was phenomenal in clearing the ball and had many great runs in getting the ball to the offense.

Birdie Hawkins, who was a First Team All-Bay State Conference honoree in 2023 and 2024, is the all-time school leader in assists (130) and second in points (292). She has 47 goals and 22 assists this year.

Playing great on defense isn’t a novelty for Sydney Bueno, who has anchored the backfield all year and is third on the team in ground balls. At the very least, she deserves All-Bay State Conference Honorable Mention.

“Sydney has had an immeasurable impact for her senior season and has been such a powerful leader and player,” Molloy said.

The Warriors needed to win by seven goals to move up to 21st in the power rankings, and they would have finished ahead of the Boston Latin Wolfpack (9-9), a team they beat in the final week of the season. If Brookline beat Framingham (6-14), who finished 34th in the power rankings by seven or more goals, they would have faced Newton North in the opening round of the playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Framingham Flyers rallied in the second half and cut the deficit to one, but ran out of time. Framingham’s goalie made a few point-blank saves, which enabled the visitors to make the game much closer. In the end, Brookline held on for the win.

“We weren’t looking at Framingham as a typical game; it was our senior night, and we wanted to have fun and get some of the seniors who haven’t scored a goal,” Teahan said. “They had some fast breaks and our defense slowed down a bit, but at the end of the day, we were looking to have fun.”

Complementing the elder Bueno on defense are seniors Sasha Harwin and Sophia Liu; juniors Sylvie Kostant-Greeley, Scarlett Rothstein, Elin Lindgren-Palm, and Gigi Hawkins. Carinn Bueno has excelled in her first year as the varsity goalie with 137 saves.

“Carinn Bueno stepped into a huge role this year, taking over as our varsity goalie,” Molloy said. She has come up with unbelievable stops in big moments all season long.”

Senior Lauren Fisch, juniors Clara Thibault, Priscila Hill, Amalia Lindgren-Palm, and Maya Schwartz, and freshman Emma Hassenstein have helped on attack, and freshmen Nia Kirrane and Sofia Safar have helped in the midfield.

“We have had more of a drive to win, and our underclassmen have stepped up and gained more confidence,” Teahan said. “As seniors, we want to leave a legacy and a mark on this team, so we are giving it everything we've got.”

Molloy said, “The four of them [freshmen] had an immediate impact on our team and consistently made game-changing plays throughout the season.”

In their recent history, the Warriors are 0-3 against King Phillip, who is also the Warriors. Brookline lost to King Phillip at Downes Field in 2023 and twice to KP in 2024 in Wrentham, first in the
season-opener in the rain, and then in the Division 1 playoffs on June 1, 2024.

Being able to step up in big games, which Brookline did against Boston Latin and Newton North, gives the Warriors in the 02446 zip code hope, and they believe that the fourth time could be a charm.

“Like I said, us being able to play all four quarters strong and intensely will help us in the playoffs,” Teahan said. “We have to maintain a positive attitude and go into the playoffs hungry for the win. It has to come from the whole team. For the playoffs, we are looking to start strong and pressure the other team. We are going to hold our own, and I know the seniors are going to give 1000 percent – it could potentially be our last game together.”