RALEIGH, N.C. — D.C. Metro ended Massachusetts/Rhode Island’s reign as the champion of the top flight at the USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament, winning the championship game of the Red Division by a 15-9 score at the WRAL Soccer Park on Sunday.
The Massachusetts/Rhode Island region had won the top flight at the last three tournaments and in four of the last five, but D.C. Metro brought home its first title since 2013 thanks in large measure to a dominating effort in the draw circle.
Catherine LeTendre, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from The Potomac School and Sophia Stoltz, a 5-foot-11 sophomore from Stone Ridge School, did most of the damage in the circle. LeTendre took the majority of the draws with Stoltz, her teammate from the Capital Lacrosse Club, gathering up many of the draws in addition to stepping into the circle herself.
They were especially dominant to open the second half, helping D.C. Metro break open a close game. D.C. Metro led 8-6 at the half, but it was over seven minutes of game time before Massachusetts/Rhode Island got it first sustained possession in the second half. By that time, D.C. Metro had jumped out to a 12-6 lead.
Stoltz scored two of D.C. Metro’s goals in the four-goal run to open the second half and finished with four for the game. Coco Rigoli also scored four times for D.C. Metro and Stella Pence had a hat trick.
Giulia Colarusso, a junior from the Groton School committed to Boston College, led Massachusetts/Rhode Island with four goals and Tori Balser, a Noble & Greenough junior committed to Harvard, had a goal and an assist.
D.C. Metro’s top two teams all won division championships with D.C. Metro 2 winning the Yellow Division.
Recaps from the other division championships follow.
Blue Division
Tennessee wrapped up its dominant tournament with a 16-5 win over Orange County (Calif.) 2. Aria Burton, a sophomore at Brentwood High School, scored the first two goals of the game and finished with a team-high five. Emerson Symonds added three goals and Claire Fritts, Taylor McCall and Olivia Rewers each scored twice for Tennessee. Natalie Chapman and Katie Meneses scored twice for Orange County.
Green Division
Georgia 2 held off a spirited late rally from North Florida to hang on for a 10-9 victory in the championship game. Georgia scored the first five goals of the game and held a 10-6 lead with under six minutes to play. Ashley Albert, Hannah Toole and Lily Toole then scored consecutive goals to get North Florida within a goal with 2:12 remaining in the game. Georgia’s Bryn Birkholz won the ensuing draw and Georgia ran out over half of the remaining time and North Florida could not get the equalizer after finally regaining possession. Megan Canavan, a sophomore at Buford High School, led Georgia’s offense with two goals and an assist and Elle Bea Croteau also scored twice. Lily Mosser led North Florida with three goals.
Indigo Division
North Texas scored five straight goals to overcome an early 4-0 deficit, but Nor Cal’s Tory Agnew scored the last two goals of the first half to regain the lead for her team. Nor Cal pulled away in the second half for a 12-7 victory. Agnew, a junior at Davis High School committed to UC Davis where her older sister Alex has been the Aggies’ leading scorer the last three seasons, had a game-high five goals to lead Nor Cal. Nor Cal goalie Krystalin Respicio made four second-half saves while allowing just two goals to keep North Texas at bay. Mae Flanagan and Mia Jensen each had three goals for North Texas.