NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Tournament First Round Recap

Don’t sleep on the two-time defending champions. 

Tampa may not own one of the top seeds in the South Region this year, entering the NCAA Tournament as the region’s number four seed, but it certainly played like a top seed against No. 5 Embry-Riddle in Thursday’s first round, posting a 17-10 win to start its chase for a third straight national championship. 

Similar to the earlier meeting this year between these conference foes, won by Tampa 17-8 on April 15, the Spartans (13-5) dominated the middle two quarters to take control. Leading 4-3 after one quarter, Tampa outscored the Eagles 8-3 and outshot them 22-8 in the second and third periods to build a 12-6 advantage entering the final quarter. 

A three-goal spurt by Embry-Riddle midway through the final stanza pulled the Eagles to within four with six minutes remaining, but the deficit and 21 total turnovers were too much to overcome. 

All-Americans Peyton Howell and Mary Kate Person led Tampa with four goals each, while Jenna Myhal added three goals and one assist. Meanwhile, senior defender Isabella Avila helped anchor the defense, finishing with a game-high three caused turnovers and becoming the program’s all-time leader in that category. 

“We did a good job of working together and communicating on defense, which really helped us today,” Avila said. “We’re a huge energy team and we feed off of momentum shifts. We try to capitalize on those moments.” 

ERAU goalie Ella Rae-Cox tried to keep her team close, finishing with 12 saves while facing 41 Tampa shots. Eliana Enners and Callison Foreman scored three goals each for the Eagles (12-6), who were making their second NCAA Tournament appearance. 

Tampa now carries a nine-game NCAA Tournament winning streak into Saturday’s second round to face a familiar foe, its SSC rival and No. 1 seed Florida Southern. The two teams will be meeting for the third time this season and sixth time over the past two years.

Highlights from Thursday’s other first round games: 

Kutztown scored six straight goals over a nine-minute span in the first half to grab the lead, which they never relinquished in a 12-8 victory over Wingate. Maddie Wagner scored a game-high five goals for Kutztown (15-6), which recorded its first-ever NCAA Tournament win and tied its school record for wins in a season. The Golden Bears now face the Atlantic Region’s No. 1 seed, Slippery Rock, on Saturday in a rematch of last week’s PSAC championship game, won by SRU.

West Chester (16-4), making its 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament, had its hands full in a high-scoring first half against No. 6 seed Frostburg State, but pulled away after halftime for a 22-13 win in the Atlantic Region. Senior Sydney Wasdick, who appeared to get injured in the closing seconds of the game, tallied a season-high seven goals to help advance the Golden Rams into Saturday’s second round match-up against PSAC rival and No. 2 seed East Stroudsburg.

In the third meeting of the year between CACC rivals, No. 4 seed Wilmington defeated No. 5 seed Dominican 15-11 in the East Region, with senior midfielder Ella Royer leading the way with seven goals and one assist.

Ava Franco netted four of her five goals in the first half to help Mercy build a 14-5 halftime lead en route to a 19-10 win over first time NCAA qualifier Southern Connecticut State. Franco finished with a game-high eight points as Mercy, champion of the ECC, improved to 6-1 all-time vs S. Conn State.

No. 6 seed Ashland extended its winning streak to 13 games with a 12-9 win over No. 3 Grand Valley State in the Midwest Region. Trailing 9-8 after three quarters, the Eagles scored four unanswered goals in the final period to claim the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

Also in the Midwest, No. 6 Rockhurst registered the day’s biggest upset, rallying from a two-goal halftime deficit by outscoring No. 3 seed Regis 13-2 in the second half for a 17-8 victory. Elise Magee led the way with five goals and two assists as Rockhurst also notched its first NCAA Tournament win.

In the final game of the day, St. Leo defeated first-time tournament qualifier Young Harris, 19-11 as Sophia Wood netted a game-high five goals and Holly Hill, the SSC’s Attacker of the Year, added seven points on three goals and four assists.

Thursday’s First Round Scores 

Atlantic Region  
(4) Kutztown def (5) Wingate, 12-8 
(3) West Chester def (6) Frostburg State, 22-13

East Region  
(4) Wilmington def (5) Domincan (NY), 15-11  
(3) Mercy def (6) S. Conn. St., 19-10

Midwest Region  
(6) Rockhurst def (3) Regis (CO), 17-8 
(5) Ashland def (4) Grand Valley St, 12-9

South Region  
(4) Tampa def (5) Embry-Riddle, 17-10  
(3) St. Leo def (6) Young Harris, 19-11 

Saturday’s Second Round Games 

Atlantic Region  
(4) Kutztown at (1) Slippery Rock  
(3) West Chester at (2) East Stroudsburg

East Region  
(4) Wilmington at (1) Adelphi  
(3) Mercy at (2) Pace 

Midwest Region  
(5) Ashland at (1) UIndy  
(6) Rockhurst (CO) at (2) Maryville 

South Region  
(4) Tampa at (1) Florida Southern 
(3) St. Leo at (2) Flagler