BEL AIR, Md. — Sunny skies on a picture perfect day greeted more than 1,100 of the nation’s top young women’s lacrosse players at the 2022 USA Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament at Cedar Lane Regional Sports Park.
A total of 58 teams, representing 25 states, played a total of 86 games on Saturday, renewing a women’s lacrosse tradition that dates to 1933. Since adding a high school division in the mid 1980s, the event has evolved into one of the biggest and most unique recruiting showcases in the sport with players trying out to represent their region of the country.
Beyond recruiting, teams also compete for regional pride and that was on full display. The reigning champion in the top flight (Red Division), Massachusetts/Rhode Island 1, made a strong case to try to bring home its third straight championship.
Massachusetts/Rhode Island 1 went a perfect 3-0 in pool play, beating Connecticut 1 by a score of 11-9 in the tournament’s final game of the day. Attackers Ava Brosnan, Fionna O’Keeffe and Ali Petrone each scored two goals in the victory.
In the Red Division final, Massachusetts/Rhode Island 1 will meet Long Island Metro 1. It’s the Long Island Metro region’s first trip to the National Tournament since 2019. The event was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and local restrictions prevented Long Island from sending teams last year.
Long Island's top team made its return with a strong showing, winning all three games, including a narrow 9-8 victory over D.C. Metro 1 in its first game of the day. Megan Kenny and Avery Testa each scored three goals and Long Island ran out the final three minutes of the game with a successful stall to secure the victory.
The championship games are set in six of the divisions, while the Violet Division completes pool play on Sunday morning.
Sunday’s championship schedule:
Blue Division: Philly 4 vs. Nation United 1, 10 am (Field 12)
Green Division: Virginia vs. Philly 3, 9 am (Field 12)
Indigo Division: Ohio vs. South Carolina, 8 am (Field 12)
Orange Division: Philly 2 vs. Long Island Metro 2, 11 am (Field 12)
Red Division: Massachusetts/Rhode Island 1 vs. Long Island Metro 1, 10 am (Field 13)
Violet Division: TBD, 11 am (Field 13)
Yellow Division: Massachusetts/Rhode Island 3 vs. Orange County, 9 am (Field 13)
Complete scores and schedules can be found on Tourney Machine.
