Baker, Gregg helped fill holes to allow St. Thomas girls lacrosse to repeat in D3

Chloe Baker had no intention of playing lacrosse this spring.

While she'd been a part of the defense for the St. Thomas Aquinas High School girls lacrosse team that won a Division III championship in 2024, Baker decided during the school year that her days on the field were done.

"I’ve played lacrosse since first grade, always on defense," she said. "I was going to be a manager this year. This year, senior year, I thought maybe I just wanted to chill."

But when the preseason got underway, the Saints were in a bind.

Last year's goalie, Brea Barker, transferred to The Governor's Academy after serving as the team's starter during her freshman year. With practices going on, no one had stepped up to fill the position, and Baker got a crazy idea.

"It was halfway through preseason and our team was still in need of a goalie," she said. "I was like it’s one more year, what the heck, let’s go for it."

Three months later and Baker made 14 saves to help No. 1 St. Thomas beat No. 2 Gilford, 15-11, on June 10 to win back-to-back Division III championships.

"It would be a different game if she wasn’t there for sure," St. Thomas coach Jen Carroll said. "She did a phenomenal job."

There was a moment in the third quarter, when Baker stepped up to make a tough save, but Gilford was able to control the rebound and score, that Carroll saw a glimpse of frustration from her goalie. As the teams were preparing for the draw, the coach came down the sideline to shout some words of encouragement to Baker.

"You could almost see, and it was the double shot, and it speaks to Gilford’s abilities that they grabbed that groundball and got that shot off," Carroll said. "You could almost see (Baker) get discouraged.

"We as coaches, getting off the bus, we hand write all of the girls personalized notes. Chloe’s was, if the ball gets in the back of the net, look out on the field. There are 11 other girls out there. The ball got past all of them. Shake it off."

For someone in her first season playing the position, those moments of support made a big difference.

"Having those words of encouragement from players and especially coaches, it just gives you the motivation to keep going," Baker said. "That happened, there’s nothing you can do about it, you just have to move on."

Baker wasn't the only player stepping into a new role the Saints on the road to a championship.

St. Thomas returned quite a bit from last year's title team, with the exception of a few key pieces. One of them was Barker, another was attacker Megan Leahy, who graduated last year and finished her high school career with over two hundred goals and three hundred points.

In stepped junior Talula Gregg, who is from Portsmouth and transferred in from St. George's School in Rhode Island. All the midfielder did was post 111 points (72 goals) this season and help provide steady leadership on and off the field.

"She’s always working and it’s elevated everyone else," Carroll said of Gregg. "Her lax IQ is off the charts. She’s friends with so many of the girls. Her and (junior) Charlotte De Tolla play so well together. They’re fun to watch. They’re always looking to get better and they’re making our jobs easier as coaches."

Carroll added that it was a drama-free season behind the scenes for the Saints, which Gregg attributed to the camaraderie within the team.

"So exciting," Gregg said of this season. "Our team energy is so positive and it’s so fun to be on and play with at all times. I’m always excited to go to practice, go to games, go to team bonding things. I think the positive energy kept us going all season.

"It’s summer break for us right now and I think our team energy and positivity keeps us together. We all want the best for each other on the field, too."

And it led to them being the best on the field in D3 once again this spring.