The Long Island Women's Lacrosse Team enjoyed a stirring 12-10 victory over Hudson Valley in the finals of the Empire State Games held at Cortland SUNY on Saturday, July 28. The 2001 Empire State Games marked the first time that Women's Lacrosse was officially entered in the games. This accomplishment was due in great part to the efforts of Manhasset resident Bob Costello to whom the players and their families are extremely grateful.

The Long Island Team was led by Coach Carol Rainson-Rose, who grew up in Manhasset, is a member of the Manhasset Sports Hall of Fame and now coaches the Northport High School Women's Lacrosse Team, and Coach Tracy Weiner, who coaches the Farmingdale High School Women's Lacrosse Team. They were ably assisted by Coach Lisa Christensen, who coaches the Syosset High School Women's Lacrosse Team.

The three Manhasset girls who played on the team, Kate Breslin, a junior at Manhasset High School, Katie Killeen, a senior at Manhasset High School and Morgan Molinari, a Manhasset resident who is a senior at Sacred Heart Academy, each played a vital part in assuring the team's gold medal victory.

The format involved a round robin among five separate regional New York State premiere teams. At the end of round robin play, the teams with the two best records were to play for the gold and silver medals and the teams with the third and fourth best records were to play for the bronze medal.

Long Island started strong on the first day of competition, defeating the Adirondack Team 8-5 and then defeating the Hudson Valley Team 5-3. On the second day of the competition, Long Island suffered its sole defeat in an 8-7 loss to the Central New York Team. Before losing, Long Island, led by Kate Breslin, staged a furious comeback from a 7-3 deficit. With 30 seconds left, and Long Island losing 8-7, the team won the face-off. Breslin got the ball and maneuvered through virtually every member of the Central Team to make an incredible shot for what appeared to be a game tying goal with virtually no time remaining on the clock. The goal, however, was disallowed because of a penalty, and Central New York hung on to get its only win in the tournament. Later that afternoon, Long Island needed to defeat Western New York to advance to the gold medal round, and did so handily.

At the end of the round robin segment of play, Long Island and Hudson Valley were tied for first with 3-1 records. They faced each other in the Championship game at 11 a.m. on the final day of the tournament. While Long Island led throughout the entire game, victory wasn't assured until the closing seconds. When the final buzzer sounded, Long Island was ahead 12-10. The team and its fans rushed onto the field and cheered exuberantly for the gold medal winners of the first Women's Lacrosse Championship in the history of the Empire State Games.