Maryville Has a Show-Me State of Mind

By any measure, the 2023 season was the best one in the five-year history of the Maryville women’s lacrosse team. Under first-year coach Melissa Gyllenborg, the Saints opened with a record-setting winning streak en route to a 17-3 record.

Along the way, the ascendant program from St. Louis claimed its first-ever victory over a ranked opponent, achieved its first ranking in the national polls and earned its first NCAA tournament berth. Powered by a dynamic offense that finished second in the nation with 18.6 goals per game, Maryville emerged as a legitimate championship contender.

“The turnaround, from having never won more than four games, to still being undefeated after 13 games, was probably the biggest surprise last year,” Gyllenborg said. “They had heart and the will to win.”

No player embodied that commitment more than Sydney Tiemann, who joined the Saints as a transfer shortly before the start of the 2023 season. The attacker from nearby Eureka, Missouri, had spent her first three seasons playing for Gyllenborg at McKendree. When Gyllenborg made the jump from one Great Lakes Valley Conference school to the other after the 2022 season, Tiemann soon followed.

The change of scenery couldn’t have worked out any better.

Playing in Gyllenborg’s high-risk, high-reward system, Tiemann broke the NCAA Division II single-season record with 115 goals and earned first-team All-American honors. Through Maryville’s 4-0 start to 2024, Tiemann has 26 goals and six assists.

But her impact goes well beyond the scoring column.

“Having Sydney transfer here was a huge benefit because she knew us and she was able to help guide the other players in terms of what our standards were, how we run practices, and what expectations we have,” Gyllenborg said. “She was a game changer for us.”

Tiemann developed immediate chemistry with new teammates like Jessie Hynes, Helen Bae and Reagan Rukstad, all of whom scored more than 50 goals.

“I was a little nervous when I came in because I’m not good with change,” Tiemann said. “But the girls here made it easy for me. We were able to read each other on the field.”

They are also among the reasons Tiemann chose to utilize her fifth year and return to the team in 2024.

“I love the game,” said Tiemann, who is completing her degree in marketing, “and I wanted still to be around this team.”

Maryville’s rise reflects that of the sport in St. Louis. Gyllennborg owns and operates the 410 West club program for which Tiemann played and now coaches.

“Getting younger kids into the sport is making a difference,” she said. “Sydney is pretty recognizable among youth players. They all know who she is and know her name. She’s a local kid and other locals are now seeing what you can accomplish.”

Nearly half of Maryville’s players are from Missouri. Gyllenborg hopes that the continued growth of the sport in the area will yield more.

“There’s lots of youth programs that are coming up, and one of our goals is to stay true to the local area when we are recruiting,” Gyllenborg said. “We don’t want to miss players in our backyard who have potential. It’s pretty exciting for us to take some of that local talent and bring them in to this opportunity.”