Defending champion Tampa conducted a free-position shooting clinic at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Va., on Thursday, converting six of seven attempts in the first half to break away from UIndy for an eventual 13-8 win in the first of two NCAA Division II women’s lacrosse semifinals.
Seeking to become the first back-to-back D-II national champion since 2015, Tampa (20-1) faces Adelphi (19-3) in Saturday’s national championship game. Adelphi defeated Slippery Rock 15-13 in Thursday’s second semifinal to set up a rematch of last year’s final.
Tampa fell behind 3-1 midway through the first quarter against UIndy before embarking on a 9-0 run over a stretch of 22 minutes to seize control. That run was fueled by six free-position goals, including four by first-team All-American Peyton Howell.
“Advancing to the national championship is a testament to the grit, discipline and heart these players have shown all season long,” Tampa coach Kelly Gallagher said. “We’re going to stay focused, stay hungry and give everything we’ve got in the championship game.”
Howell, who came into Thursday’s game ranked eighth in the nation in scoring with 107 points, finished with four goals and one assist to lead the Spartans, who extended their winning streak to 10 games. Freshman midfielder Maddie Szyluk added two goals during Tampa’s decisive scoring run, helping the Spartans build a 10-4 halftime advantage.
UIndy opened the second half with three goals in the first six minutes to cut into the deficit but would manage just one more goal over the final 24 minutes of the contest. An active Tampa defense led by Lexi Waters, Erin McLoughlin and Isabella Avila and anchored by goalie Savvy Barbosa (nine saves) helped shut down the Greyhounds’ offense the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, a Tampa offense that ranks fifth in the nation in scoring also had two goals apiece from Sophi Wrisk and Sarah Engle, two key players who have missed significant time with injuries this season. Wearing a brace on her right knee, Wrisk is back playing with a torn ACL, while Engle was playing in just her 10th game of the season.
Both players recorded over 30 goals each this season despite missing significant action, and Gallagher well knows the difference that they can make.
“They are both really great players, so it’s nice to have them back and on the stat sheet,” she said. “We’ve faced adversity, we’ve grown stronger together and we’ve earned this moment. We’re excited for the opportunity to represent our program on the biggest stage.”
All-American midfielder Olivia Bladon paced UIndy (15-7) with three goals and became the sixth player in team history to register a 100-point season, finishing with 102 total points.
The second semifinal featured Adelphi, the most decorated program in Division II history making its 17th final four appearance, against a Slippery Rock team that earned its first NCAA tournament bid in 2025. The game was far from the mismatch it appeared to be on paper.
A back-and-forth first half saw Adelphi build its biggest lead at 7-3 when Payson Hedges deposited her second goal of the game with 6:49 left before halftime. But Slippery Rock answered with three straight tallies over the final 3:33, pulling back to within one on Krysta Frankowski’s transition goal 20 seconds before halftime.
The second half featured both teams making big runs. Adelphi owned the third quarter, dominating possession and the scoreboard by outscoring SRU 6-0. Marielle Colalillo (3 goals in the quarter) and Alexandra Leggio (1g,2a) did much of the damage as the Panthers scored on six of their seven shots in the quarter built a 13-6 lead.
But just when it seemed that the Panthers had secured their ticket into Saturday’s final, the Rock came back to life. Three free-position goals in less than 90 seconds early in the final quarter sparked a five-goal run that pulled SRU back to within two at 13-11 with 10 minutes remaining. Grace Rotter tallied four goals in the run for Slippery Rock and finished with five goals in the quarter and a game-high eight points overall.
But Slippery Rock would not draw any closer. Rita Sefransky’s second of the game and Ashley Kolomechuk's team-high fourth goal provided enough cushion to lift Adelphi back into the championship game.
The Panthers extended their winning streak to 12 games and earned the chance to avenge last year’s championship game defeat by playing for the 10th national championship in program history on Saturday.
