By Michael Letendre

When Bristol put together a scholastic girls lacrosse co-op program 10 years ago, making the playoffs seemed like an impossible dream.

But fast forward to 2022 and the landscape has completely changed as both public schools carry teams and this year, the programs at Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern are playoff bound.

That’s a credit to both head coaches as Central’s Kyle Phelan and Eastern’s Kayla Policarpio have talented players and teams that should enjoy some postseason glory.

This season, the Rams managed a stellar 11-4-1 ledger – improving on its 8-4 record from one year ago and earning the No. 11 seed in the Class L tournament fray this season – competing in a qualifying round match today.

Central is home against No. 22 Norwich Free Academy at 4 p.m. from BCHS.

In the Class M bracket, Eastern – after going 3-10 overall in 2021 – earned a shot at the states for the first time in program history, going 7-9 and seizing the No. 18 seed. 

The Lancers travel today to battle No. 15 St. Joesph at 3:30 p.m. on the road in Trumbull.

“It feels incredible to make the tournament this year first because of all the hard work these girls have put in and second, it shows the progress this program is making,” said Policarpio.   

However, the road to get both programs to the postseason ended up being a marathon, not a sprint.

2013 and Emily Bourassa

The Bristol co-op was first coached by Kelly Buikus and enjoyed stellar goal play from a young standout by the name of Emily Bourassa.

And though Bristol never won a match, she was strong in the net.

“2013 is when the co-op first had its varsity games,” said Phelan. “[We] didn’t win a game for two years.”

Phelan came on as head coach a year later but the squad still couldn’t tally a victory.

There was a near miss or two – such as a 6-3 loss at home to Windsor back on May 19, 2014 – but Phelan had outstanding net play by Bourassa, a slick senior that left her mark on the program through her tremendous play. 

Years later, she is back in the mix as Phelan’s assistant coach.

Policarpio follows suit

In 2015, another senior standout for the Bristol co-op team – Kayla Policarpio – was helping the squad continue to build and grow.

The attacker scooped up 15 goals and 11 assists as a senior and just about four years later, Policarpio was still attacking – this time from the sidelines as the head coach over at BEHS.

“Kayla has the same fire she has on the sideline as she did when she played for me,” said Phelan of Policarpio. “Her determination to be a good lacrosse player was evident from day one. She came in with zero experience and by the time she was done playing, she was the captain of our team, and then the captain of her club team at Central Connecticut State University.”

“She used to play the whole game, not only due to low numbers, but because she would legitimately get mad to be taken off the field.”

When it was time for Policarpio’s final scholastic game, the Bristol co-op team was supposed to square off against Capital Prep on May 26, 2015.

The locals won via forfeit but Phelan and crew scrambled to schedule one final showdown as Policarpio shined once again for the Bristol girls lacrosse co-op.

‘I’ll never forget her last game,’ said Phelan of Policarpio. “Her senior night got canceled because the other team just didn’t show up. We scheduled one last game at RHAM and Kayla played the best game I had ever seen her play. She scored three goals and was all over the place as a midfielder. She was just incredible.”

From CCSU, to Bristol and back

Policarpio never stopped playing as she graduated from Bristol Central and then played for the club team while attending CCSU.

While competing for the Blue Devils, she came back to Bristol to help Phelan coach the Bristol co-op program.

She eventually became president of the Women’s Lacrosse Club at CCSU and those leadership qualities illustrated that one day, she’d become an outstanding coach.

And why not coach in Bristol?

After graduating from CCSU, it wasn’t long before the 22-year-old earned the head coaching job at Bristol Eastern in 2019.

“I was part of the humble beginnings when we were a co-op and building the program,” said Policarpio. “I knew one day it would get to this point, but I never thought I’d play such a large role in it as a head coach.”

Two growing programs in Bristol

In 2019, Eastern went 1-11 but had an All-Conference performer in Ciara Collins while Phelan was 4-11 as both Central and Eastern missed out on the postseason.

Three short years later, including not playing in 2020 due the pandemic, the Rams and Lancers combined to win 19 matches and put Bristol girls lacrosse on the scholastic map.

Several other towns have long and vaunted youth and scholastic histories but Bristol is catching up in terms of numbers and talent.

And then there’s the ultra-competitive nature between the Central and Eastern programs.

In regular season play in 2022, Central was able to sweep Eastern this season but the difference was just three total goals.

The Rams defeated the Lancers 10-8 back on April 25 and in the rematch, Eastern fell at home by a 6-5 final from Alumni Field.

That’s a credit to both programs and don’t be surprised when the former student gets the better of her teacher over the coming seasons.

“I absolutely love coaching against Kyle,” said Policarpio. “He coached me, we coached together and now twice a year, I get to stand on the sidelines against him and we have lots of fun chirping at each other before and during the game. It’s all from a place of love though. I only want to see this sport thrive in this town, and I am grateful for my opportunity to be a part of it.”

Phelan and Policarpio are certainly big reasons why Bristol Lacrosse is in the great situation it sees itself in today throughout the Mum City.

And Phelan knows that Policarpio will help the sport continue to grow as lacrosse is becoming more popular than ever at the youth level.

Frankly, the success of both public-school programs in town is fostered by both Phelan and Policarpio in the best possible ways.

“She is bringing that fire to her coaching because her team is getting better and better every year,” said Phelan of his Eastern counterpart. “I am so happy to see both teams being successful and even happier to see the game growing in Bristol. The rivalry game is hard for me because of her being on the other sideline.”

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