WICHITA, Kan. — In a dominant performance from start to finish, top-ranked CSU San Marcos blitzed Montana State 17-5 in Friday’s championship game to claim its first WCLA Division II title.
Ranked No. 1 to start the season, the Cougars left no doubt that they were the best team in the nation this year, going wire-to-wire to win the title and finish with a 13-0 record.
San Marcos started quick and fast in Friday’s final, with freshman attacker Shea Morgan scoring five first-quarter goals to help the Cougars build a 6-2 lead. They never looked back.
“We just got the momentum going really early today, and once we start, it’s really hard to stop us,” Morgan said. “We were ready to win.”
Morgan finished with a career-best seven goals and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
“I was so nervous before the game, but once we started scoring goals, all that went away,” Morgan said. “My teammates just cleared out space for me because I think they knew what was happening.”
As an explosive player at Fallbrook (Calif.) High School last year, Morgan said she has been able to build on her skills in her first collegiate season due to the influence of her teammates. Playing on the same attack unit with national attacker of the year Angela Chantaca, who added six goals of her own in Friday’s win, has helped Morgan raise her level of play.
“Angela is so supportive of everything I do, and I’ve learned so much from her this year,” Morgan said. “She’s so strong and confident whenever she drives. I just love watching her play.”
Holding a 6-3 lead midway through the second quarter, San Marcos put the game away with six straight goals over a 12-minute span, capped by Morgan’s seventh of the day at 10:54 of the third quarter that extended the lead to 12-3.
Montana State finally ended its 23-minute scoring drought at 6:11 of the third quarter, but the outcome was well in hand by that point. The game twice moved into running time in the fourth quarter as San Marcos extended its lead past 10 goals.
While that helped the start of the celebration arrive just a little sooner, in reality, it was several years in the making.
“We just had a small group when we started after COVID, in 2022, which was my freshman year,” club president and All-American defender Audrey Street said. “We’ve been building this team for the past three years, adding talented players and building a community. We’ve learned how to trust each other.”
Making its WCLA tournament debut, Montana State (11-6) just didn’t have enough answers, plagued primarily by too many turnovers against San Marcos’ aggressive ride and re-defend. Goalie Ellyce Davis finished with 13 saves for the Bobcats but repeated failed clears and lost draws continued to fuel CSUSM’s momentum.
The day, and the champion’s trophy, belonged to CSU San Marcos.
“This is the highlight of my four years of college,” Street said. “This is huge.”
In the third-place game, Boise State rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit for a 9-6 win over Florida Atlantic. Three second-half goals by midfielder Kennedy Northcup fueled the Broncos’ comeback, while goalie Emily Brown recorded eight saves.
Lacrosse Specialties, Here We Flo, Powell Lacrosse, Gatorade, and GoLive Sports serve as official event sponsors for the 2025 USA Lacrosse WCLA Championships, with local support provided by Wichita Youth Lacrosse, Visit Wichita, and Chicken N Pickle of Wichita. In addition, STX provides support for the Elevate 28 youth clinic on May 9.
Friday’s Scores
3rd Place: Boise State 9, Florida Atlantic 6
5th Place: Missouri 12, UC San Diego 7
7th Place: Denver 9, Concordia Irvine 7
9th Place: Fullerton College 12, Florida Gulf Coast 10
