Denver, Tampa Advance to WCLA Division II Final

NAPLES, Fla. — No. 1 seed Denver and No. 7 seed Tampa charged into Thursday’s WCLA Division II championship game with semifinal victories Wednesday at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex.

In the first game, senior midfielder Reagan Baldwin scored two of her game-high four goals in the opening three minutes to help No. 1 seed Denver jump to an early lead that it never relinquished, eventually claiming a 10-5 win over No. 3 UC San Diego. The Pioneers (13-1) carry a nine-game winning streak into the championship game.

“We were pretty fired up going into the game, so getting the early goals gave us some momentum and we just didn’t look back,” said Baldwin, selected as the USA Lacrosse Player of the Game.

Leading 6-3 at halftime, Denver steadily built on its lead in the second half and allowed UCSD just two goals over the final 43 minutes of the game. Playing behind a strong defense, Pioneers’ goalie Alex Rangel finished with eight saves.

“Alex had a fantastic game with a few of her 8-meter stops and the defense really saved us several times today,” Baldwin said. “We never think of ourselves as the number one team. We just go into every game focused on doing what we do.”

Denver returns to the championship game for the fourth time overall but the first time since making three straight trips from 2016-18. The Pioneers were national champions in 2016 and 2017.

In the nightcap, Tampa junior midfielder Alexis Jones put on a historic performance with seven goals and five assists to lead the Spartans past Missouri, 17-11. Jones’ 12-point performance tied the WCLA Division II tournament record for most points in a single game.

Jones also had plenty of help, with freshman Mary O’Hara adding six goals and two assists, and Sylvie Hipp netting three goals. Leading 5-4 early in the second quarter, Tampa scored seven of the game’s next eight goals to take control.

Tampa is now the last undefeated team in the nation at 12-0 and reaches the championship game in its first-ever WCLA tournament appearance.

The Division II championship game will be played at 7 p.m. Thursday evening.

USA Lacrosse is providing video streaming of all D-I and D-II games throughout the tournament. Streaming packages, ranging from single-game viewing to a full tournament pass, can be purchased at USALacrosseTV.com.  

Capelli Sport, CWENCH, Halpern Travel, Gait Lacrosse, GoLive Sports, N&D Sports, and SportsEngine serve as official event sponsors for the 2026 USA Lacrosse WCLA Championships, with local support provided by Florida’s Paradise Coast – Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau.

WCLA Division II Semifinals

No. 1 Denver def. No. 3 UC San Diego, 10-5
No.  7 Tampa def. No. 5 Missouri, 17-11