We told you last Friday about the Beach Channel Dolphins, the hardscrabble Rockaways’ girls’ lacrosse team that was looking for a second-straight storybook city championship on Saturday at Floyd Bennet Field. The team got the last chapter they wanted, beating Staten Island’s Tottenville team 12–11 on a goal scored with only 34 seconds left to play (it was the team’s only lead of the game; they trailed by as much as four in the first half).
The scene was joyous at a postgame tailgate in the twilight parking lot lit by nearby carnival rides; male classmates who’d boisterously cheered the team playfully tossed a toad toward some of the players, who were eating brownies on a minivan bumper. Coach Sam Innes, assistant coach Kerri Walsh, and principal Patricia Tubridy joined family and friends at the waterfront Rockaway Lobster House to celebrate. As Innes polished off his champion’s steak, a D.J. set up. “A special shout out to the Channel View lacrosse team: city champions!” the D.J. said. The table hollered. “I didn’t even know the Rockaways had lacrosse,” the D.J. said, then played the Impressions’ “It’s All Right.”