Thu May 27 2021 | Ella Brockway | College
PHOTO BY JEFFREY A. CAMARATI / UNC ATHLETICS
Kayla Wood’s caused turnover for North Carolina near the end of its quarterfinal game against Stony Brook on Saturday was arguably her most timely play of the season.
The senior has stepped up for the Tar Heels throughout their 20-0 campaign five ground balls and four draw controls across their two ACC tournament games, even a first career assist against Virginia in April but this one came during the year’s most pivotal moment yet.
With her team up only one goal with less than four minutes left, Wood knocked down a Seawolves pass just shy of midfield. Caitlyn Wurzburger scooped up the ground ball. About a minute later, Ally Mastroianni scored on a free-position shot to give North Carolina a two-goal lead that would help seal its spot in the Final Four.
Thu May 13 2021 | Ella Brockway | College
PHOTO BY JOHN STROHSACKER
Lizzy Fox scored the winning goal in overtime against Drexel in the CAA championship game.
James Madison has always prided itself on peaking at the right time. The Dukes focus on managing out their year, coach Shelley Klaes said, so that they’re playing their best lacrosse when the postseason rolls around.
That’s no different in 2021. After an overtime win over Drexel in the CAA championship game on Sunday, James Madison will enter the NCAA tournament’s first round on Friday riding a six-game winning streak, with four of those wins coming by six goals or more.
Thu May 13 2021 | Ella Brockway | College
PHOTO COURTESY OF UCONN ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
Lia LaPrise is a true feeder and catalyst for the UConn offense.
When UConn players sat down to watch the Selection Show on Sunday, they knew they were sitting right on the bubble.
The Huskies tallied a 12-6 record this season, with a program-record seven Big East wins, but a loss in their conference title game knocked away their chance at an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The players, gathered at the house of some of the team’s seniors to watch live on ESPNU, felt a sense of uncertainty about how the night would go. But by the time the bracket announcement came around and UConn was revealed as an at-large selection, that feeling turned to joy.
Thu May 6 2021 | Ella Brockway | College
PHOTO COURTESY OF HIGH POINT ATHLETICS
As a freshman at High Point in 2018, Abby Hormes led her team with 59 goals and earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors. In her sophomore year, she set program single-season records in two categories and scored in every single game. Then in the shortened 2020 season, she led the Panthers in assists.
She didn’t do anything particularly different to prepare for her senior season in 2021 the same individual drills, watching film, looking for ways to improve her own game but that work has arguably produced the best lacrosse of her career.