There’s a lot of strong championship pedigree among the four remaining Division I teams in the 2019 WCLA (Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates) Championship Tournament. They have combined to win four of the last five national titles, while adding two other runner-up finishes.
There are no Johnny-come-latelies in this group.
Back-to-back dominating performances by top-seeded Pittsburgh over the first two days of the 2019 tournament has provided ample evidence as to why the Panthers have held the number one ranking since the start of the season.
Pitt made short work of its opponent for the second straight day, utilizing its deep line-up and depth for an 18-5 quarterfinal win over No. 9 seed Cal Poly. Eleven different players scored for the Panthers, who raced out to an early 7-1 lead and never looked back.
“We’re well balanced, everybody plays, and everybody is a threat,” said first-year head coach Kevin Tidgewell. “We play unselfish lacrosse.”
Pitt is the nation’s last undefeated team, carrying a 17-0 record into Friday’s semifinal match against WCLL rival Michigan, the defending champion.
No. 5 seed Michigan Club had to work harder than Pitt to secure its final four spot, breaking away late for a 10-8 win over No. 13 Boston College Club. Tied at 7-7, Michigan outscored BC 3-1 over the final 21 minutes to move one step closer to successfully defending its title. Goals by Emily Roth, Kennedy Mulvaney and Ana Beyer proved to be the difference.
“It wasn’t our best game, but we still had trust that we would pull it out,” said Michigan defender Amanda Riesmeyer, named as the D-I national player of the year on Wednesday.
Michigan, now 15-3 overall, earns another shot at Pitt after losing 14-6 to the Panthers in the league final last month.
Friday’s second semifinal features No. 2 BYU, last year’s championship runner-up, against No. 6 Delaware, the 2017 national champion. Both teams advanced with narrow victories Thursday.
BYU edged upstart Virginia Tech Club, the number 10 seed, 8-7, with goalie Jessica Christensen making a game-saving stop in the closing seconds. Two first half goals by All-American Heather Haight and Haley Harris helped give the Cougars a narrow one goal cushion at halftime.
The score was tied twice in the second half before Haight tallied her third of the game and the eventual game-winner with 20:28 remaining.
Delaware used four goals each from seniors Sarah Tappan and Alexa Woodruff to move past No. 3 seed UCLA, 15-13. The Blue Hens built a 9-6 halftime lead and held off a second half push by the Bruins, who pulled to within one goal twice. Tappan, a key performer on Delaware’s 2017 run to the title, scored the final four goals for the Hens.
In Division II, No. 1 seed Utah State, No. 2 Denver and No. 4 Loyola all claimed spots in Friday’s WCLA Division II semifinals by each finishing 2-0 in round-robin play Thursday. The final semifinal berth will be determined on Friday morning following the completion of pool play.
Utah State, ranked first in the national poll all season, earned its first national semifinal berth after registering wins over New Hampshire, 14-12, and Portland State, 18-2. The Aggies bring an 11-2 record into Friday’s semifinal, with both losses coming against Division I teams.
“This has been a record-setting season for our program, and we’re excited to keep it going,” said USU coach Krista Call, named the national Division II coach of the year on Wednesday. “We have a lot of talented players on this team and they are dedicated to each other.”
Utah State will face defending national champion Loyola Maryland Club in Friday’s semifinal.
The Greyhounds advanced with a pair of lopsided wins, beating Air Force, 16-4, and Oakland, 18-8. Loyola is making its fifth straight appearance in the national semifinals. The Hounds are 12-1 on the year with an eight-game winning streak.
Two-time champion Denver Club earned its fourth straight semifinal berth, but it didn’t come easy. The Pioneers withstood a second half rally from Grand Valley State to win their opener, 13-9, and later worked overtime to secure their second win, 11-10, against Nevada Reno.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game because we had seen Nevada play and knew that they were much better than a number 11 seed,” said Denver coach Mindy Stone. “There are more strong teams every year, which is great for the growth of the WCLA.”
The fourth semifinal spot will be determined on Friday morning. Navy Club controls its own destiny after beating No. 3 seed St. Thomas, 11-9, on Thursday. If the Mids defeat Utah Valley on Friday, they seal the semifinal berth. If Utah Valley wins, then a tie-breaker will be used to advance either Navy, Utah Valley or St. Thomas.
Both the D-I and D-II national semifinal and championship games on Friday and Saturday will be available for viewing via free streaming on www.laxsportsnetwork.com.
Harrow Sports serves as the official event partner for the 2019 US Lacrosse WCLA National Championships, while US Lacrosse’s national partners, Motive Pure, Pearl by Guardian, Nationwide, Impact Canopy, Krossover, SISU and Sports Performance Tracking provide additional event support.
Ongoing coverage of the WCLA Championships – including stories, scores, and updated game schedules – will be available throughout the event on uslacrosse.org/wcla2019.