PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Concordia women's lacrosse team secured a spot in the WWLL Championships as the No. 3 seed and created a golden storm in Phoenix.
UC Santa Cruz was the first opponent for the Golden Eagles in the tournament. It was a close game, but incredible saves and defensive plays held off the Banana Slugs until the game ended.
Darby McGregor had 16 saves for CUI, and her performance at the end of the fourth kept the Banana Slugs offense from scoring. Two back-to-back saves gave Concordia the chance to win the match.
The Golden Eagles weren't shy when it came to scoring. Riley Finch led the team with four goals and an assist, followed by Jessi Borton who captured three goals of her own. Courtney Miller and Mia Mongan kept the offense moving with their assists. Alex Strauch added two goals to the board when the Golden Eagles needed more momentum. Both Lexi Miner and Samantha Gomez found the back of the net to make the final score 11-9.
And just like that, the Green and the Gold were moving to Semi-Finals for the big matchup against San Diego! Excitement was in the air and the energy carried over into the second game of the day. San Diego proved to be a worthy opponent for the Golden Eagles. A close game was afoot.
Mia Mongan was a force to reckon with as she captured four goals for Concordia. Other key scorers in the second match were Riley Finch, Alex Strauch, Jessi Borton, and Lexi Miner.
Despite the tough battle for a spot in the finals, San Diego pushed ahead and captured the win CUI 10 - SD 14.
At the end of the day, four CUI athletes were recognized as WWLL DII All-League First Team and head coach Dylan Miles received the WWLL DII Coach of the Year award for an amazing regular season. These athletes included Darby McGregor, Lexi Miner, Jessi Borton, and Riley Finch. The Golden Eagles are not done yet!
Next up is the match against Stanford on Sunday morning for all of the marbles. The winner of the match will capture the No. 3 spot in the championship.
CLICK HERE for the women's lacrosse link to bracket play.
