Westhampton Beach wins Suffolk Class B girls lacrosse title, advances to Long Island final

Westhampton Beach turned a season that once looked lost into a county championship, beating Smithtown West 13-9 at Stony Brook to win the Suffolk Class B girls lacrosse title and keep its postseason run alive.

Maiya Boughal led the way with three goals, and after the final she pointed to the team’s midseason adversity as the reason the Hurricanes were ready for the moment. “That rough patch helped us grow as a team,” Boughal said. For a group that was 5-8 and had dropped five straight games about three and a half weeks earlier, the title was less a surprise finish than a hard-earned reset.

The turnaround became visible on Thursday, May 28, when Westhampton Beach upset West Islip 8-6 in the Suffolk semifinal at West Islip. That win sent the Hurricanes into the final and gave shape to a run that had started to feel improbable, even inside the program. Goalie Mia Brown and head coach Mary Bergmann emerged as central figures in that surge, with the defense and the sideline stability giving Westhampton Beach a base it had not always shown earlier in the season.

That mattered on Sunday, when the Hurricanes had to handle a Smithtown West team that kept the county final competitive deep into the game. The 13-9 score showed Westhampton Beach did not cruise to the trophy. It had to finish possessions, answer pressure and keep its identity intact in the biggest game of the year.

The championship also carried emotional weight beyond the bracket. Senior leaders Maiya Boughal, Ava Derby and Caeden Dorn helped define the season, and Dorn’s path added another layer to the team’s resilience after she tore her ACL in the first game and later underwent surgery. That kind of loss can drain a roster. Instead, Westhampton Beach used it to tighten around its veterans and keep moving.

Now the Hurricanes have a quick turnaround and a bigger stage. Section XI’s schedule lists Westhampton Beach against Garden City in the Long Island Class B championship at Stony Brook University on June 7 at 12:30 p.m. The winner moves deeper into the NYSPHSAA Class B bracket, with the state tournament set for SUNY Cortland on June 12-13. For Westhampton Beach, the Suffolk title was not just a finish line. It was proof the season’s hardest stretch may have been the part that built what comes next.