BEL AIR, Md. – The champions at the 2025 USA Lacrosse Nationals showed there are a lot of ways to win a championship during Wednesday’s action at Cedar Lane Regional Park.
In the 15U age group, Mass Elite rode its defense to a second straight USA Lacrosse championship. Possession was the key for Yellow Jackets Friedman winning the 14U age group – also its second straight title and Yellow Jackets Babst rode momentum and offense to win the 13U championship.
The event featured more than 700 athletes from 36 club teams competing in 81 games over the two days.
15U
In the oldest age group, Mass Elite allowed just 13 goals in six games over the course of the tournament, including a stellar effort in the championship game, a 5-1 victory over Yellow Jackets Bert/Maget, the same team it edged out to win last year’s 14U championship game.
Mass Elite’s defense limited the Yellow Jackets scoring opportunities and when they did break free, Mass Elite goalie Julia Alessandro repeatedly turned away shots.
“She did great,” said Mass Elite coach Margot Spatola. “She’s steady and she has the confidence of her teammates in front of her. They do their best to set up savable shots and she did a really nice job.”
Sadie Nash, who scored two clutch goals late in last year’s championship, led the offense with a pair of goals in this year’s championship game. It was the second USA Lacrosse championship this year for Nash as she also helped the Massachusetts/Rhode Island 3 team to a division title at the USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament in May in Amherst, Mass.
14U
Yellow Jackets Friedman scored the first three goals of the championship game against Team 91 Roar and though Roar twice came back to pull within a goal, that early lead coupled with dominance on the draw paved the way for a second straight championship for this Yellow Jackets squad in an all Long Island final. The Yellow Jackets won the contest 11-5.
Piper Brawley was outstanding on the circle for the Yellow Jackets and also helped kickstart a four-goal run to open the second half with a goal and an assist as the Yellow Jackets pulled away from a 5-3 halftime lead.
“Piper’s one of the best in the country, there’s just no doubt about it … but, better kid,” said Yellow Jackets coach Peter Friedman. “Every time you see her she has a smile on her face.”
The Yellow Jackets had plenty of contributors on the offensive end in addition to Brawley, including multiple goal performances from Riley Chiang and Nicole Manolakes.
“The kids work so hard and it’s been such a long year, but we have a nice team and everyone contributed,” Friedman said. “They’re the greatest kids in the world and they deserve this. I’m just so proud of them.”
13U
Yellow Jackets Babst has been one of the top 2030 teams in the country all year, but Tuesday’s pool play saw a rare occurrence – a loss. The Yellow Jackets lost to thinklax Maryland Select 7-6 in an overtime thriller, just its third loss of the summer against teams in its own age bracket, but they rebounded to beat Maryland Select 11-7 in the 13U championship game on Wednesday.
Of the three losses the team had this summer, they bounced back to beat the same opponent in the next game all three times, but this one was special.
“We’ve had this team since they were in second grade, so it’s been a goal of ours to come down and win this tournament for five years now,” said Yellow Jackets coach Brian Babst. “Our girls have been so dedicated to the sport and helping to grow the sport in their own community.”
After being held to seven goals on Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets matched that total in the first half, keyed by a four-goal run that broke a 2-2 tie. Vivienne Speidell broke the tie with a free position goal to start that scoring run and finished with a team-high three goals in the championship victory. Addison Chartrand, Addison FitzGibbon, Mackenzie Klammer each added two goals in the victory.
The 2025 USA Lacrosse Youth Nationals were sponsored by Capelli Sport, Gait Lacrosse, Hotel Planner, GoLiveSports and MedStar Health.
