Experience in D3 title game was key for St. Thomas girls lacrosse

LACONIA - Meg Leahy remembered what it was like losing a championship game.

So when the St. Thomas Aquinas High School girls lacrosse team fell behind early in this year's Division III title game, the senior and her Saints teammates didn't panic.

In fact, the experience of getting beat by 15 goals in the 2023 title game helped St. Thomas play like it had nothing to lose, not something an undefeated top seed can often say.

"Last year, we were blown out in the championship," Leahy said. "One thing that really stuck with us was that we had been here before. We had experience with the championship, we had the experience of being down. This team lost no one from last year, so to come back with the same team was huge for us. To have that experience already was what put us over the edge."

The Saints (17-0) had to rally in all three quarters, and when they finally took the lead late in the third quarter, it was theirs for good. Leahy scored three times in the final 1:10 of the quarter to give St. Thomas an 11-8 lead and the No. 1 Saints held on for a 13-8 win over No. 3 Gilford on June 6 at Bank of NH Stadium in Laconia.

"I think Saturday’s game, today’s game, it was all 12 of them on the field," St. Thomas co-coach Jen Carroll said. "They all worked together really well, and I think that’s one of our strengths, the depth of our team and ability to find each other on the field."

It's been a gradual build throughout Leahy's four years on the team. During her first two seasons, the Saints had talent, but not enough to get past the opening round.

Last year, St. Thomas was the second seed and reached the final by knocking off a Gilford team it had lost to during the regular season. But then came the championship, where the Saints lost to Bow 20-5, the second-largest margin of victory in the history of the D3 final.

"They walked off the field after losing to Bow with the goal of getting back here this year," St. Thomas co-coach Jill Carroll said. "The entire season was around getting a different medal at the end of the season."

Throughout the year, it seemed the Saints had someone reaching a scoring milestone every other game. Leahy eclipsed both two hundred goals and three hundred points this year, while Charlotte De Tolla got her hundredth point and goal.

Cat Vetter also got to a hundred goals while Kensley Harris, Lizzy Holden and Katherin Dornan each reached a hundred points.

"To be a senior now and have girls hitting those milestones is a huge achievement for the girls and the school," Leahy said "It is diverse. Everyone is getting touches, everyone is looking for each other. Our team is a very well-rounded team and we are all sisters. That helps us."

It took dedication for those players to reach their milestones as well as from the whole team to reach the championship. It's the first one for St. Thomas after also reaching the title game last year and in 2008.

"They showed up, they put in the work, they did what we could have asked for and more," Jen Carroll said. "They’re pulling their friends in. One of our strongest defenders started as a junior because she was friends with other girls on the team. They were like ‘come play lacrosse, it’s really fun.’ We had 46 girls come out for the team this year, which is phenomenal. It’s such a good group that they had that draw."

Gilford in a good spot

The Golden Eagles were playing in the title game for the first time in program history, after reaching the semifinals for the first time last season. Several members of the team played in championship games in field hockey or soccer, but getting this experience will help.

"It was just an honor to be here and represent Gilford," Golden Eagles coach Jen Watson said. "We’re losing four seniors. We’ve got an experienced team. Going into next season, we’re just going to continue with this momentum. They should be proud of themselves."

Gilford will try to continue a trend in D3 that started in 2017, where the team that lost in the final follows it up with a championship the next year. It has happened in six of the seven seasons played since then.