I started covering Coronado High School sports back in late November 2020. In these five years of coverage, I’ve seen my fair share of great, championship-caliber teams.

While they still have a playoff run ahead of them, I think it’s fair to say the 2025 Coronado Islanders girls’ lacrosse program is the best team I’ve covered in my five years of doing work for the Coronado Eagle & Journal.

Playing top teams from the states of Illinois, Massachusetts, and Virginia? They beat ‘em.

Early season matchup against the defending Open Division champions? They took care of them, too.

Playing in a league where three of the four other teams ranked inside the top 10 in San Diego County? Yeah, they handled them, too.

The girls in green and white don’t feel pressure; they apply pressure. Last Tuesday night, Coronado added yet another impressive win to their resume. They took down Cathedral Catholic 14-10 on senior night, securing the Western League title and moving, at the time, to 16-0.

Prior to Tuesday’s showdown, the Islanders girls’ lacrosse program honored its six core seniors, Katie Collins, Alex Conlon, Charley Peterson, Hannah Fabiszak, Bella Braga, and Alyssa McWilliams, for their contributions to the program.

While the senior class was honored pre-game, it was a pair of underclassmen, Lilah Cade and Siena Kieffer, who kicked things into gear by logging the game’s first goals, putting Coronado ahead 2-0 early in the first.

Cathedral would manage two first-quarter goals of their own, but Coronado’s two-goal lead still remained thanks to a second goal of the quarter from Kieffer and a tough on-the-move finish from Sydney Dunn, who beat the keeper to the right, putting Coronado ahead 4-2 at the end of one quarter of action.

Heading into the second, the Islanders’ attack remained in rhythm, quickly adding to their goal total after Breck Dunn connected on her first goal of the night off an eight-meter penalty shot. Kieffer would complete her first-half hat trick only a few minutes later by converting on a shooting space penalty, finishing to the top left corner to extend the Coronado lead to 7-3.

Perhaps most impressive about the Islanders’ offensive display against Cathedral was how unselfish they were with the ball. All night, Coronado made the right decisions with possession.

On defense, Avery Hunter and Katie Collins were brilliant on change of possession, bringing the ball up from the defensive third and clinically dispensing it to the midfield and attackers. In the attacking third, the Islanders always looked to make the extra pass, which often led to high-quality looks right in front of the goal.

The final Coronado goal of the half would arguably be the game’s most memorable. With under three minutes to play in the half, Coronado found themselves down in numbers in a transition attack. Even still, Grace Elardo would cut in behind two defenders and rip a shot at goal.

The ball would clang hard off the crossbar. Yet, somehow, Breck Dunn had quick enough reflexes to grab the ricochet and subsequently bury a skip shot into the back of the net. Making it a 9-5 Islanders lead.

Returning from the break, the Islanders quickly went back to work, opening the third quarter on a 3-0 run highlighted by two Sydney Dunn goals and a steal by Katie Collins that eventually led to a goal by Brynn Belong, extending the Islander lead to 12-6.

Cathedral responded with two goals of their own late in the third to make it 12-8 heading to the fourth, but they could never close the gap. The Islanders’ attack found the back of the net twice more in the fourth, which included yet another goal by Belong.

Meanwhile, in the defensive third, Coronado made some critical stops, none bigger than Madie Collins’s steal and subsequent ground ball with 2:02 to play to ice the game away.

Following the 14-10 win over Cathedral, the Islanders would lock down their undefeated regular season with an 18-3 trouncing of University City.

To the surprise of no one, the 17-0 Western League champions, Coronado Islanders, earned the No.1 seed in the CIF Open Division playoffs when brackets were released. As the No.1 seed, Coronado has earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Their first playoff game will not be until Tuesday, May 13th, when they’ll take on the winner of San Marcos and Bishops.