It was a semifinal Sunday at The St James in Washington DC. First order of business, the New York Charging and California Palms took the field to see who would face the Boston Guard for the first ever Maybelline Women’s Lacrosse League Championship Series crown.
New York started hot, particularly in net. Netminder Madison Doucette stacked up seven saves in the first quarter, robbing a potent California offense of scoring chances. She finished with 21 saves, the most ever for a WLL or PLL Championship Series game.
“She was our Bull of the game,” said Charging Head Coach Colleen Magarity.
“I don’t think Madison has gotten the credit she deserves throughout her career. She is an unbelievable goalkeeper. She got got in the first quarter, and as the saying goes, don’t let keepers get hot early,” said Charging assistant coach Molly Little, adding, “it was a beach ball for her today. She was making some really, really nice stops.”
“We were having fun. I think we knew defensively we didn’t play our strongest game, myself included, against the Guard. So we came in here with a chip on our shoulder and our defenders, well our attackers turned defenders, gave me the shots I wanted to see,” said Doucette.
On the offensive end, the Charging spread the wealth. Emily Hawyrschuk, Meg Carney, Emma Tyrrell, and Izzy Scane all found the back of the net multiple times, and nine players registered at least one point, including eight with at least one goal. Hawryschuk led the way with seven goals, on a perfect seven for seven shooting effort.
California was able to spark some production and get high percentage looks by pushing in transition from defense to offense, particularly off of saves from Moreno. Sam Geiersbach scored twice in the first half, using tempo to create better looks and higher percentage shots to try to keep California within striking distance at half time.
“You have to give credit where credit’s due, Doucette’s had a great tournament. Credit to he for standing tall in goal. At the same time, I think there’s a lot of those we want back. Stick side high, right to the chest, me included in that. Being able to stay the course and reset after a mistake, I think we did a good job. And looking for inside looks more as the game went on, but the stat sheet says it all. The game came down to finishing, and that’s something we have to improve on,” said Palms player Erin Bakes.
Part of Hawryschuk’s seven goal day including scoring four straight for the Charging in the second half.
“The person who continued to come to the top of my mind throughout this entire game was Kendall [Halpern]. She continued to scream energy and effort, so that was what my focus was on in every little play,” said Hawryschuk, adding, “You go out there, you have fun, and you do your job at the same time. I’ve grown up playing against Taylor Moreno, I think since club lacrosse, and I have nothing but respect for her. But at the end of the day, I’m doing my job play by play.”
New York’s defense caused more turnovers than the team committed in the game. Halpern individually finished with four caused turnovers, five ground balls, and two goals on just seven touches. The defensive effort often led to the offense for New York, yet another way they applied pressure to California.
The Charging will take on the Boston Guard for the WLL Championship Series title. It is the third meeting between the two teams, the first being a scrimmage before competition began. The Guard won the matchup in pool play, 20-18.
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