Sayville girls lacrosse falls to powerhouse Darien (Conn.)

The Gains for Brains Showcase annually features some of the top girls lacrosse teams in the region and one of the first games of the 2025 showcase was another example of that. Sayville took on Darien, the No. 1 public school and No. 4 overall school according to USA Lacrosse, as the defending state Class C champions embraced the challenge against a national power.

Darien (Connecticut) proved to be too much for Sayville though as the Golden Flashes suffered an 11-7 loss at Cold Spring Harbor High School in non-league play on Saturday morning.

“We knew this would prepare us for the future and we knew it was going to be a challenge, but we really wanted it,” junior midfielder Sophia Buffardi said. “I think it does show what we need to work on though and we can learn from it.”

The Gains for Brains showcase has raised more than $80,000 since 2015 to support the Making Headway Foundation, which benefits children with brain and spinal cord tumors. The Golden Flashes wanted to not only be a part of this elite showcase, but challenge themselves against as tough an opponent as possible.

“You have to play the good teams to get better and obviously this is the place to do it,” coach Gary Jensen said. “It’s a great tournament for a great cause and we’re definitely happy to be here. Hopefully we’ll be here next year.”

Buffardi was one of three players to score two goals for Sayville (8-2). She had two goals and one assist, Olivia DeSimone had two goals and two assists and Dylan McNamara added two goals. Morgan Farrell added a goal and an assist.

Annabell Adams had five goals and two assists for Darien (7-1).

Sayville scored four of the game’s first six goals before Darien went on a 7-0 run over 5:42 to take a 9-4 lead with 3:42 left in the second quarter. Buffardi scored off an assist from Abby Galaris with 2:46 left in the second quarter and Farrell and DeSimone scored in the third quarter as Savyille cut Darien’s lead to 9-7 entering the final period. The Golden Flashes failed to score in the fourth quarter.

“We want to play the best teams and they are one of the best, so for us to get better, this is a great experience for us,” Jensen said. “I think we needed to be a little bit more efficient on offense, but as far as our defense, I feel we improved as the game went on.”

Sayville won its first state title in program history last year. The players aren’t allowing themselves to look too far ahead toward a repeat, but they hope games against elite programs like Darien will help their chances at that possibility.

“This is only going to push us to be better versions of ourselves because this isn’t the ultimate goal,” DeSimone said. “Our goal is to win as much as we can during the playoffs.”