This past weekend the team once again braved the five and half hour drive to Phoenix for the Western Women’s Lacrosse League Championships. The Tritons had started their season in Phoenix back in February, and after having a successful 12-1 season record, they were ready to win a championship. Seeded #1, the Tritons played #4 Cal Poly Slo B Saturday April 9th at 2:00pm. With the temperature reaching a sizzling 94 degrees, the Tritons struggled to acclimate to the hot weather. It soon became obvious that they needed to play smarter not harder if they wanted to survive the heat. The Tritons ended up beating Cal Poly 17-4. Defense was a brick wall and quickly got the ball back over to attack throughout the game. Junior Captain Delianey Iles led the goal count with six goals, Freshman Emily Schittino put in a career high of three goals, and Junior Captain Ellen Jurgens and Sophomore Kayla Tracy followed with two goals apiece. The team couldn’t wait to celebrate their wins in the air-conditioned hotel rooms, but before they could rest, there was a very important award ceremony at 6pm Saturday night. 

UCSD dominated the award ceremony. Junior midfielder Delainey Iles, Sophomore attacker Sophia Terenik and Freshman goalie Lindsay Rubin all made the First Team All League. These players were nominated by other teams and were awarded due to their high talent level and skill. Next up was the award for Coach of the Year. Head Coach Taylor Cabrera had been nominated by her team’s captains, and the nice words written about her by Junior captain Ellen Jurgens led her to win the award. Ellen had also nominated Sophomore Kayla Tracy for Player of the Year. Right after Taylor had gone up to accept her award, Kayla was awarded Player of the Year. It was such an emotional moment seeing our coach and player get a round of applause and the recognition they deserve for all of their hard work. The awards ceremony came to a close, and it was time to get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s championship game against rival team San Marcos. 

The Championship game took place on Sunday April 10th at 10:00am against #2 seed Cal State San Marcos. The Tritons had adrenaline rushing through their system and dominated the game from the beginning. Sophomore Kayla Tracy had eight draw controls, which really allowed the Tritons to stay on top of San Marcos. Defense communicated well and shut down their feeds and cuts to the middle. Freshman goalie Lindsay Rubin had an amazing game with 14 saves. Scoring wise, Delainey led with five goals and Sophia Terrenik got in four while Kayla followed with three goals. Overall, the championship game was a team effort, and everyone brought out their highest level of energy and passion for the sport. The final score was 16-12 and the Tritons were awarded the first place position in the WWLL. It was a great feeling to know that all of our hard work had led to something: a championship. By winning the WWLL championship, UCSD has received the automatic qualifier to go to Nationals in Texas May 4th through 7th. We are so excited and cannot wait to play some competitive lacrosse against teams from all over the country.