San Tan Valley, AZ - The return of the Northern Arizona University women's lacrosse club to full member status in the WWLL and the movement of some other teams into different places were the highlights of a WWLL Executive Committee meeting last night. In WWLL D1 a much needed balancing of conferences resulted in eliminating Central D1 and moving Cal Poly and UCSB to North D1. WCLA National Champion UCLA were moved into the uber competitive South D1 Conference. Referees covering those regular season games better start running now. 

UCSD has moved to South D2. This resulted in moving Cal State Fullerton and Fullerton College to Central D2 to keep an even number of teams in Central D2 and South D2. 

Here are the results for WWLL D1 team placements. 

Here are the results for WWLL D2 team placements. 

In addition the provisional membership category was reinstated so that Claremont, Nevada, Reno; Moorpark College and SBCC could receive support making headway toward full membership in the WWLL.

This story was edited after placement of USC changed from Central D2 to Central D1 - 8/23/25.

Wichita, Kansas — Through the years, the UCLA Bruins have been one of the most consistently successful teams in the WCLA’s Division One ranks. The Bruins have won multiple league championships, had a plethora of players recognized as All-Americans, and qualified for the national tournament 15 times, ranking among the most appearances of any school.

It's therefore surprising that UCLA had never won the WCLA championship, coming closest in 2003 and 2011 with national runner-up finishes.

But that all changed Friday in Wichita, with No. 3 seed UCLA breaking away from No. 5 Northeastern for a 13-8 victory and their first USA Lacrosse WCLA national championship. The Bruins finished the year with a 17-1 overall record.

“We have great talent on this team and the ability to beat anybody when we have a full team effort,” said sophomore Talitha Cheng, named as the tournament’s outstanding attacker after tallying three goals in Friday’s victory.

Two goals in the first quarter from Cheng, also selected as a first team All-American this week, helped the Bruins to an early 4-1 lead.  Northeastern then answered with a three-goal run, including two scores by its own All-America midfielder Molly Burnes, and tied the game at 4-4 early in the second quarter.

But that’s when UCLA started its own game-changing scoring run, tallying five straight goals in less than three minutes to take the lead for good. The Bruins effectively shared the wealth, with five different players scoring goals. Repeated draw controls, including several from Cheng, helped fuel the run, with UCLA leading 9-7 at halftime.

“A lot of credit to Zoe Moskowitz who takes most of our draws,” Cheng said. “We have a system that we try to use, and I try to take the first step to be quick to the ball.”

The teams traded free position goals midway through the third quarter, but the second half belonged to the UCLA defense, which allowed just the one goal over the final 30 minutes and held the Huskies to their second lowest scoring total of the year.

“We did a little scouting and talked about marking their primary drivers,” said UCLA freshman Tyler Hawthorne, selected as the tournament’s most outstanding defender.  

Hawthorne is one of 10 members of an impactful Bruins’ freshman class.

“Some of us really had no idea what to expect when we joined this club program, but it’s a great environment and this team is amazing,” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better first year.”

Junior goalie Kate Ruiz, who finished with seven saves, serves as the anchor of the defense and was selected as the tournament’s most outstanding goalie.

“Kate is awesome and does a lot of talking back there to direct us as one unit,” Hawthorne said. “She gets a lot of credit.”

Ellie Morrall scored a game-high four goals to lead Northeastern and was named as the tournament’s most outstanding midfielder. The Huskies finished 12-4 overall while making the first championship game appearance.

Florida Club, which entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, defeated No. 2 seed Georgia, 15-14, in the third place game.

Gatorade, Enovis, Lacrosse Specialties, and Powell Lacrosse serve as official event sponsors for the 2024 USA Lacrosse WCLA Championships, with local support provided by Wichita Wind Surge, Chick-Fil-A Wichita East, Visit Wichita, Chicken N Pickle of Wichita, Angelo's Italian Catering, Tanganyika Wildlife Park, and Butler Creative TV.

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News story is writen by Paul Ohanian of USA Lacrosse Magazine and was originally published there. Photo by Nick Flynn.

As a program Cal State San Marcos has continued to improve over the last few years and has progressed towards consistently competing against top ranked teams. The Cougars have had some talented players join their club who contribute to pushing their teammates to a higher level. From Coach Jillian Dohrman, "Our club has been lucky to always have women who love lacrosse and who want to grow the game and their teammates on and off the field, and that is really special to have."

In the final game of the WCLA National Tournament for both teams Cal State San Marcos played Boise State in a fight for third place. The Cougars were 0-2 against the Broncos for the past two years at Nationals but came out on top in this one. Cal State San Marcos were down 0-4 at the end of 1st quarter and then 0-5 in the first few minutes of the second quarter. With a few adjustments on offense and a fire lit by the defense the Cougars outscored Boise State 10-1 through the rest of the second and third quarters. By the start of the 4th quarter they led 10-6 and then held on for a 13-11 victory.

Cal State San Maros junior attacker Angela Chantaca was named winner of the Amtahcha Award as the national player of the year in WCLA Division 2 and also Attacker of the Year for the WCLA. Sophomore goalie Cierraleone Warfield was named Goalie of the Year, and coach Jillian Dohrmann, was named Coach of the Year for WCLA D2.  The Cougars also won the Sportsmanship Award from among all the teams at the WCLA National Tournament. 

Phoenix, AZ - Saturday of the WWLL Championships the following WWLL All-League teams, coaches of the year and players of the year were announced.  Congratulations!

• Division 1 Player Of The Year - Sierra Chabola (San Diego State)
• Division 1 Coach Of The Year - Eileen Johnson (UC Berkeley)
• Division 2 Player Of The Year - Kali Price (Cal State San Marcos)
• Division 2 Coach Of The Year - Dylan Miles (Concordia)

Phoenix, AZ - UCLA held off the club from ASU in a nail biter to win 10-9 and win the WWLL D1 Championship.  The Sun Devils mounted a furious fourth quarter rally to pull within a goal with 2:02 left in the game but could not get the equalizer and force the overtime.  UCLA survived.  

The Bruins led 8-3 at halftime and 10-4 going into the fourth quarter but every shot they took for the rest of the game was stopped by ASU senior goalie Alex Labrosse (Amherst, NH). Labrosse was 100% on saves in the final period and the Sun Devils outscored UCLA 5-0 in that quarter fueled by her saves. The Bruins got to the championship game with an 18-3 win over the club from UC Davis and a 15-4 win over the club from UC Berkeley.  ASU advanced with a 20-10 win over Cal Poly and an 11-6 win over Grand Canyon.  

The championship for UCLA is their fifth all-time in the WWLL. The Bruins have won it in 2003, 2014, 2016, 2019 and now in 2024.  The championship count is catching the UCSB total of six from championships in 1991, 1992, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012, 

With the win UCLA earned the WWLL D1 automatic qualifier berth in the WCLA National Tournament.  That national championship event is May 7 - 10, 2024 at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas. ASU and San Diego State are two ranked WWLL D1 teams in the WCLA Top 20 Poll who will have to wait for word about at-large invitations. 

Complete WWLL Tournament Results & Brackets (Tourney Machine) 

Select WWLL Tournament game replays, including the championship game, may be found on the YouTube Channel for South Mountain Sports.  

Photos from the WWLL Championship Weekend April 13 - 14, 2024 are available for download on photographer Clay Lyons SmugMug.

Phoenix, AZ - Cal State San Marcos repeated as WWLL Division 2 champions with a 14-8 win over the cinderella story University of San Diego team to get their second straight WWLL championship. The 7th seeded Toreros were spinning as a cinderella with their 10-9 upset of second seeded Cal Poly B in their quarterfinal and their 14-10 upset of third seeded Concordia of Irvine in the semifinals on Saturday.

While the Toreros were the story of the day on Saturday in D2 of the WWLL Tournament hosted by Grand Canyon University it were the Cougars as the team of the day on Sunday. In 2023 Cal State San Marcos were 19-1 winners over 3rd seeded UC Santa Cruz for that past title but had to do more work to get by cross-town rival University of San Diego.  In the first half the Cougars led 6-1 and then won the second half 8-7 for the 14-8 final result. 

Cal State San Marcos receives the WWLL D2 automatic qualifier berth in the WCLA National Tournament. That national championship event is May 7 - 10, 2024 at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas. Six other WWLL D2 teams ranked in the WCLA Top 20 Poll will wait for word about at-large invitations.  

Complete Results & Brackets (Tourney Machine) 

Select WWLL Tournament game replays, including the championship game, may be found on the YouTube Channel for South Mountain Sports.  

Photos from the WWLL Championship Weekend April 13 - 14, 2024 are available for download on photographer Clay Lyons SmugMug.

Phoenix, AZ - The WWLL Championship Tournament for both D1 & D2 started off with a bang on Saturday morning at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. Two full eight team brackets competed in each division. This marked the first year for an expanded D2 bracket, with the WWLL having increased if from four teams to eight teams for the first time. The expansion paid off for 7th seeded University of San Diego in D2. The Toreros would not even have been at the tournament except for the expansion of the brackets and the plucky squad played their way to the D2 final on Sunday.  San Diego upset second seeded Cal Poly B 10-9 in their quarterfinal and then bested third seeded Concordia of Irvine 14-10 in their D2 semifinal. The Toreros will face top seeded Cal State San Marcos. The Cougars cruised in a 20-5 win over St. Mary's and a 18-7 win over the club from Stanford.  

Saturday play provided plenty of action with four games on each of four fields all day long. There were some upsets in the quarterfinals in both divisions but the Toreros in D2 were the story of the day. D1 results were mostly as expected in the quarterfinals save for the host team Grand Canyon upset of the club from San Diego State.

For top seeded UCLA in the D1 half of the event it was the Bruins taking care of business with a 19-3 win over the club from UC Davis in the quarterifnal and then a 15-4 win over the club from UC Berkeley in the semifinals. The Bruins will play in the championship versus the club from ASU who won 20-10 over Cal Poly and then 11-6 over upstart Grand Canyon, who had shocked the third seeded Aztecs 11-10 in the quarterfinals.

Complete Results & Brackets (Tourney Machine) 

Livestream of Sunday play is provided on the South Mountain Sports YouTube channel.  Select Saturday replays may also be found on the same YouTube Channel for South Mountain Sports.  

WWLL Championship seeds and schedule have been finalized for the April 13th & 14th event at Grand Canyon University. UCLA and Cal State San Marcos earned the top seeds in their divisions. The Bruins are the number one seed in WWLL D1 and the Cougars are the number one seed in WWLL D2.  Cal State San Marcos are the defending champions in D2.  San Diego State will have some work to do as the defending champion given the #3 seed in WWLL D1.

Complete brackets with game times and matchps are on Tourney Machine and more event information is available on the Playoffs page of the WWLL website.

Grand Canyon Hosting

It's the second time the Western Women's Lacrosse League post-season tournament will be conducted in Arizona and the Antelopes of Grand Canyon University are ready to host the league's premiere event. The tournament dates are April 13 - 14, 2024 and all rounds of the tournament are played in two days.

The WWLL D1 and D2 championships are conducted in two separate brackets played concurrently at the host institution. The winner of each division receives an automatic qualifier berth in the WCLA National Tournament.  That national championship event is May 7 - 10, 2024 at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas.

The official WWLL Championship Tournament hotel is the Crowne Plaza Phoenix Airport. Family, fans and teams may get the $154 per night rate (includes a hot breakfast!) using this Direct Reservation Link to get their rooms.  Sponsorship inquires and other questions about the WWLL Tournament may be directed to WWLL Commissioner Dave Woodson and Tournament Director Tracy Ramirez.

La Jolla, CA - Two San Diego schools won their respective WWLL championships at the WWLL event being hosted at the site of another San Diego school. Cal State San Marcos won the WWLL Division 2 championship and San Diego State won the WWLL Division 1 championship in the WWLL Tournament played at UC San Diego. 

Cal State San Marcos beat UC Santa Cruz 19-1 and San Diego State beat UCLA 16-15.  For stats submitted by those teams in those games and for all scores from the event see the Schedule/Scores page on this website.

Teams have been selected and seeded for the WWLL Championship Tournament April 15h & 16th at UC San Diego in La Jolla, CA. Dominican and the club from Arizona State have received the #1 and #2 seeds, respectively, in Division One. The Penguins and the Sun Devils are undefeated against WWLL teams and have not played each other this year. Dominican received the #1 seed by virtue of fewest goals allowed in games among common opponents. After head to head results it is fewest goals allowed as the tie-breaker method in the WWLL By-Laws.  The Sun Devils are the defending WWLL D1 champions after their 11-6 win over UCLA in 2022.

San Diego State and UCLA round out the top four. The Aztecs won a tight 11-10 contest in San Diego on February 25th. Cal Poly SLO, UC San Diego, Grand Canyon and UC Santa Barbara  are in the five through eight spots.

In WWLL D2 Cal State San Marcos is undefeated against all WWLL opponents with an 8-0 record in league games. The Cougars received the top seed in Division 2. Santa Barbara City College is also undefeated at 8-0 in league but San Marcos had fewer goals allowed against common opponents so the Cougars received the #1 seed.  UC Santa Cruz and Cal State Fullerton are third and fourth seeds.

• Click here for the Brackets & Schedule.
• Click here for Directions, Field Maps & Parking. 

For more information about the tournament please visit the WWLL Post-Season Tournament information page. Selected WWLL Championship Tournament games will be live-streamed by South Mountain Sports. In addition to the games being played all weekend the WWLL All-League awards ceremony is at 6:00pm on Saturday at Field 1 at UC San Diego.

Game Fields At UCSD (Click To Navigate):

Field 1 - North Campus Recreation Fields (NW)

Field 2 - North Campus Recreation Fields (NE)

Field 3 - John Muir Field

Penguins Out In The Cold

Three WWLL D1 teams and a record eight WWLL D2 teams are ranked nationally in their respective USA Lacrosse WCLA polls. Ranked in WCLA D1 are ASU, UCLA and the club from San Diego State. Ranked in WCLA D2 are SBCC, Cal State San Marcos, Cal Poly SLO B, Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, UCLA B and University of San Diego. 

Snubbed are the Penguins of Dominican University of California, a WWLL North D1 team and a full member of the WCLA. The undefeated Black & Gold were ranked in the February 20th and 27th polls at 4-0 and 6-0, respectively. The ranking committee dropped them out of the March 6th poll when Dominican was 7-0 and they remain unranked in the March 15th poll, with an 8-0 record, effectively leaving the Penguins out in the cold.

• WCLA D1 Poll (3/15/23)
• WCLA D2 Poll (3/15/23)

WCLA ranking committee chair Maurice Gibson responded to reporter inquiries that he has already put this on the committee meeting agenda for the March 22nd poll discussions but couldn't officially comment with further details.

The next WWLL post-season tournament is at UC San Diego April 15 – 16, 2023.

• WWLL Post-Season Tournament
• UC San Diego
• April 15 – 16, 2023
• Top D1 & D2 teams. Top team in each region receives an automatic qualifier.
• In D1 the next best five teams receive at-large bids.
• In D2 the next best one team receives an at-large bid.

Sample Brackets (From 2022)

• Division 1
• Division 2

At Stake: Automatic Qualifier (AQ) spots for the WCLA National Championship Tournament.

The official WWLL Championship Tournament hotel is the Embassy Suites By Hilton San Diego La Jolla.  Family, fans and teams may use this Direct Reservation Link to get their rooms.  The special WWLL rates are $209 - $239 per night plus tax for up to four to a suite and that includes breakfast. Teams are not required to use the tournament hotel but if you are going to use it and want the rate booking with the link is advisable. 

Sponsorship inquiries and other questions about the WWLL Tournament may be directed to WWLL Commissioner Dave Woodson and Tournament Director Allison Lane.

	Fullerton Community College File Photo

California community colleges are taking up lacrosse and it's about to increase opportunity for women at a number of schools. An indicator of growth to come is the Western Women's Lacrosse League. The WWLL started in 1992 before there was much high school lacrosse in the Western United States. Eight California four-year schools joined the inaugural year with rosters made up of east coast transplants and beginners turning out to play something new.  The league took off and is a league for two-year schools and four-year schools alike. The programs have a mix of governance by athletic departments, recreation departments and student life offices that all compete in the WWLL.  A sign of continued growth of the game are all the community college programs.

The community college lacrosse scene is growing by demand. This was expected with 263 California high schools sponsoring the sport in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and 2,878 schools sponsoring lacrosse nationwide. (Source, MaxPreps).  Lacrosse has also moved into the fastest growing sport at youth and high school levels as reported by the Athelo Group.

The Southern California Lacrosse Association has also reported on the fastest growing sport.  See Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in California.

SBCC Women's Lacrosse Club File Photo

With all those California high school programs naturally a good number of lacrosse players factor into the mix of students graduating and staying near home for college for two years.  Now is the time for expansion of the sport of the future at community colleges.  Projections are that over the next five years it will become a sport at the community college level throughout most of Southern California. As in other educational institution areas some colleges will be pioneers and forge ahead while others will play the wait and see game.  The schools with Title IX concerns and a club on their campus demonstrating interest in competing in women's lacrosse are the schools most likely to be the pioneers. 

CCCAA and WWLL member institution Fullerton College is a two-year community college that has been sponsoring their women's lacrosse team since 2018-19. The Hornets compete as a member of the Athletic Department at Fullerton CC and the team has a varsity athlete only P.E. class with a curriculum at the college as well. This is a practice common at community colleges in all their sports.  Even earlier than Fullerton CC being a pioneer for their model Santa Barbara City College had the first community college team in California with the club they fielded in 2007-08. The Vaqueros have had a club compete in thirteen academic years since inception and are back in force for 2022-23 with 33 players signed up.   (Source, SBCC lacrosse website). 

Getting in on the action are Glendale, Golden West, Grossmont, Moorpark, Saddleback and Santa Monica all fielding some level of club or team this year or next year. Joining Fullerton CC as Athletic Department or P.E. Department teams for 2023-24 are Glendale, Golden West and Grossmont. Saddleback is planning for 2024-25. Currently operating as student life teams are Moorpark, Santa Monica and SBCC but the Moorpark club advisor is athletic director Matt Crater. The clubs at Moopark have a spot on the Moorpark Athletic Department website so there's some apparent inclusion there for the Raiders.

Click here for known community college women's lacrosse clubs & teams. Additional club and team information may be sent to devo@wwll.com.

Dominican College Women's Lacrosse

Dominican College joining the Western Women's Lacrosse League and several programs returning after time away were the big news coming out of the annual Fall Meeting for all WWLL teams over the weekend.  The Penguins will play in North Division 1 of the WWLL along with the clubs from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Santa Clara and St. Mary's.  UC San Diego is moved up from D2 to D1 so it boosts the number of D1 programs in the WWLL to 14 teams in three conferences set up by regions. New Dominican head coach Joseph Manna expressed gratitude for the support from peers when he heard the results of the voting.

Growth and potential were evident during the meeting at both the four year school and two year school levels, in the multiple level WWLL. Cal State Northridge and SBCC return  to WWLL Central D2 after some time away from league membership the last few years. UC Davis B makes the news too by coming back to the fold and the Aggies will play in North D2 in addition to their A Team counterparts being in North D1.  UC Davis head coach Ken Lubert said the time was right for his program to expand as they started with 57 players last year and had to cut down to a roster of 32. Lubert doesn't want to have to limit opportunity that way again this year.  Amazingly this will give UC Davis three teams on campus again. Their NCAA Division I team is the other one. 

Two year college news includes SBCC joining Fullerton CC as one of two community colleges in the WWLL. Fullerton supports their program at the varsity level in their Athletic Department while SBCC will be competing as a club.  SBCC women's lacrosse president Taylor Ortiz relishes the idea of getting to play this year after laying the groundwork for participation during the 2021-22 school year.  Community colleges compete in D2 of the WWLL and Glendale, Golden West, Grossmont, Moorpark and Santa Monica are also looking at either club or varsity level supported teams for 2023-24. 

There are twenty-one WWLL D2 teams competing this spring and they are distributed evenly with seven teams in each of North D2, Central D2 and South D2.  The winner of each of these conferences that are set up in regions receives an automatic qualifier spot for the WWLL Championship Tournament April 15 - 16, 2023.  Similarly, the winner of each of North D1, Central D1 and South D1 receive an AQ for their playoff tournament division. The WWLL are members of the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (WCLA).  WWLL champions in each of D1 and D2 receive an AQ to the WCLA National Championship Tournament. 

WWLL divisions and teams are now public here on the WWLL website.  Click over to Teams on the menu or use the Standings page for a nice birds eye view. 

In other business during the meeting officer elections were held to fill some open spots. All officers that make up the executive board can be found on the Contacts page of the WWLL website. By-laws were tightened up as well and the final version of those will be available later this week. 

WWLL Meeting Reference:  WWLL Meeting Agenda Slide Show

The Santa Barbara Shootout is February 3 - 5, 2023 at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. The polo club let Shootout Director Paul Ramsey know on July 30th their field maintenance is starting on February 6th and after that the fields will be closed until summer polo season.  Registration is open for WWLL/WCLA and WCLO teams to kick off their season at the Santa Barbara Shootout. The event will be able to use up to twelve regulation size Bermuda grass fields. With twelve fields every WWLL team could play three or four games there to open their season.

Go to the Shootout Website for more information and to register your team.

The Western Women's Lacrosse League (WWLL) planning for Spring 2023 has started.  Here's some summer news. 

National Affiliation:  WWLL member teams voted unanimously to remain nationally affiliated with the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (WCLA).  The voting took place August 3rd in a Zoom call with teams and Commissioner Dave Woodson.  Thirty-two of thirty-five programs were represented on the call.  Some other leagues have chosen to switch over to the off-shoot WCLO but WWLL teams didn't find reasons compelling enough to make the move. 

Divisions & Teams:  Proposed WWLL divisions and team placements are now live for league membership inspection. Some new teams have formed and some teams would like to move divisions. 

To see that information, click here to see the proposed team placements.

The league wide vote for new teams and for team movement will be on September 11th.  More information about the WWLL Fall Meeting is in our announcements section.

WWLL Individual Honors Spring 2022

Here are the individual honors for Spring 2022 for All-League teams, Coach Of The Year and Player Of The Year. Selection for All-League is made by votes from opposing teams all season, after each game. Coach Of The Year and Player Of The Year recipients were first nominated by their team and then selected with a league wide vote.

Division 1 First Team All-League

Division 2 Second Team All-League

Division 2 First Team All-League

Division 2 Second Team All-League

ASU Wins 11-6 To Get First WWLL D1 Championship

UCLA and the club from ASU were two teams on a collision course to play each other in the WWLL D1 Championship Game.  The Bruins and the Sun Devils had not played each other in the regular season.  Both had emerged unscathed through WWLL quarterfinals and semifinals to meet in the final.  Both teams played at a championship level but their defense won it for ASU.

UCLA scored the first goal. Bruins senior Katie Larratt (Coronado, CA) passed inside to Kailyn McCullough (Severna Park, MD) who caught it righty and switched to her left to sting the bottom right corner.  Offense from ASU didn’t take long but it did take a while to score. The Sun Devils shot four times on their first possession but were empty handed after wide shots and two saves by UCLA goalie Naomi Moskowitz (Oakland, CA).  Then on the next Sun Devils attacking possession freshman Lesha Karaba (Philadelphia, PA) dodged from behind and pulled off a rocker move to lose her defender just above goal line extended. The attacker notched an unassisted goal to tie it 1-1. 

After it took them more than 7 minutes to get their first goal ASU mostly took over game on their way to their 11-6 win except for one surge by the Bruins toward the end of the third quarter.  The score was 7-3 in favor of the Sun Devils at halftime before they eventually won by five goals.  It is the first WWLL Championship for the club from ASU. 

Late in the second quarter it looked like the halftime score was going to be five goals for the Sun Devils but UCLA attacker Charlotte Hussey (Norwalk, CT) split a double team. The junior scored unassisted to get the Bruins to within four goals with four seconds on the clock.  All game ASU was quick to slide and rotate their defense.  Double teams and second slides are what the UCLA offense kept facing every time they were on attack.

A yellow card on ASU 11:56 into the third quarter and then another yellow card on ASU just 13 seconds later gave UCLA a 7 versus 5 players up opportunity.  Still the Sun Devils held.  Toward the end of that two minute releasable penalty period a UCLA shot that went in was called no goal for a crease violation. That kept the score 7-3 in favor of the Sun Devils during the entire player up sequence.  A midfield turnover by ASU facing the Bruins zone ride on the ensuing clear and UCLA had the ball again.  After all that time ASU defending with only five players it was back to even strength.  The Bruins scored this time.  A UCLA pass from Hussey to Macy Anderson (Novato, CA) gave the Bruins a goal and it was 7-4.

ASU won the draw control but then faced a revved up UCLA defense coming out of a timeout adjustment.  Now the Bruins were pressuring out and working hard to get their own double teams.  UCLA goalie Moskowitz came out of the crease and intercepted an ASU pass and on this Bruins possession freshman Ainsley McCabe (Arlington, VA) scored on an 8 meter free position attempt with 4:44 left in the third quarter.  The Bruins had pulled to within two goals. 

UCLA doubled on the next ASU drive to goal and came up with the ball and made it 7-6 on that possession when Larratt scored unassisted to make it a one goal game with 3:43 left in the third period.  Back and forth play through the midfield earned UCLA the ball but the one look inside they could get didn’t result in a shot.  The fourth quarter started with ASU only up by one goal but the Sun Devils went on to hold the Bruins scoreless for the quarter to get the win.  UCLA had chances the rest of the way but couldn't solve the Sun Devils defense. 

The Bruins won the first draw of the fourth quarter on a loose ball foul by ASU but their settled offense pass inside was tipped and then intercepted.  That defensive play resulted in a chance for Sun Devils freshman Briana Gardiner (Chicago, IL) to get a pass from freshman Caroline Kelly (Souderton, PA) for the first goal of the fourth quarter to put ASU up 8-6.  It was the first goal of a 4-0 fourth quarter run by the Sun Devils.  During that run timely saves by ASU goalie Alex Labrosse (Amherst, NH)  kept the Bruins from scoring on several looks at the cage, including a Labrosse save on a UCLA 8 meter free position attempt from the center hash.  After that Labrosse save ASU broke the UCLA midfield zone ride and and a long pass to Caroline Kelly (Souderton, PA) became a breakaway. The wide open attacker Kelly finished her opportunity by throwing two fakes and placing her shot off-hip to give ASU a 9-6 lead.   

A Sun Devils stick on defense knocked down a UCLA pass and after a series of short ASU passes through the midfield this time a UCLA foul gave sophomore Jaiden Stepnowsky (San Diego, CA) a free position shot and she buried it to give ASU a 10-6 lead with 7:48 left in the game.  The UCLA ride got them the ball several times but their passes inside on offense constantly met with an ASU stick tipping it or such tight marking after the catch they couldn’t take a shot.  At that point in the game with less than three minutes left and down four goals UCLA needed every pass inside to result in a shot and every shot to be a goal but ASU played everything so well on defense it didn't happen.  On the next ASU steal and possession sophomore Kaleigh Olla (Danville, CA) picked up a rebounded shot and scored tight on the crease to give ASU the final 11-6 lead with 1:24 left in the game. 

The sixth ranked nationally Sun Devils improved to 14-0 overall and will play in the WCLA National Championships in Round Rock, Texas on May 4^th – 7^th.  UCLA, 9^th ranked in the nation, dropped to 10-3 overall and are strong candidates for an at-large spot at Nationals.  The Bruins other two losses have come to current #1 Georgia and #2 Boston College.

Watch the full game on the South Mountain Sports YouTube Channel. 

WWLL Championship Photos by Clay Lyons.

Other Sunday Games

• Third Place Game: San Diego State 19, Cal Poly SLO 15
• Fifth Place Game: UC Davis 12, Grand Canyon 8
• Seventh Place Game:  Santa Clara 14, Arizona 6

Full Schedule & Results

• WWLL D1 Brackets
• WWLL D2 Brackets
• WWLL Master Schedule
• WWLL On Tourney Machine

UC San Diego Wins WWLL D2 Championship

UC San Diego won 16-12 win over Cal State San Marcos to capture the Western Women’s Lacrosse League Division Two Championship. The Tritons were 13-1 overall and the #1 seed going into the weekend and the Cougars were 10-1 and the #2 seed. After it was a 1-1 score early in the game UC San Diego never trailed but the Cougars did tie it 5-5 with 7:31 left in the second quarter. Whenever Cal State San Marcos mounted a surge, though, UC San Diego had an answer and the score was 10-6 in favor of the Tritons at halftime. 

Halfway into the fourth quarter the Cougars rallied from being down four goals to get it to 12-10 with a little more than twelve minutes remaining in the game but then UC San Diego scored with 9:51 on the clock on a Emily Schittino (Glenelg, MD) pass inside to a cutting Delainey Iles (San Clemente, CA). UC San Diego took off with the game after that nifty feed. It were two draw controls in a row and two goals in a row by the Tritons that put them up 15-10 with 7:02 remaining. 

Cal State San Marcos called a time out to regroup but then UC San Diego won the draw coming out of the timeout and killed almost two minutes while being careful on offense.  San Marcos eventually won a ground ball but the Cougars didn’t keep possession of it all the way through the clear into the offensive end and UC San Diego was back on offense with a five goal lead and the clock winding down.

Cal State San Marcos came up with the ball and transitioned successfully this time. The Cougars scored with 3:07 left to get to within four goals at 15-11 and were back on offense again after an illegal UC San Diego draw.  The Cougars used that to get a nice backdoor cut play and Kali Price (San Diego, CA) passed to the cutting Angela Chantaca (San Clemente, CA) to make it 15-12.  There was some momentum for a comeback when the next draw went the way of Cal State San Marcos but a midfield charge call gave the ball to the Tritons.  The Cougars comeback attempt was then ended with a lot of possession by the Tritons.  When Gillian Husovsky (Temcula, CA) scored unassisted with two seconds left in the game it gave UC San Diego the final goal in a 16-12 win.

UC San Diego improved to 14-1 and the WWLL Champions. The nationally second ranked Tritons will be awarded the WWLL automatic qualifier (AQ) spot in the WCLA National Championships in Round Rock, Texas on May 4^th – 7^th.   Cal State San Marcos dropped to 10-2 overall but has strong chances for an At-Large spot in the WCLA National Tournament.  The Cougars are ranked seventh in the nation. 

Watch the full game on the South Mountain Sports YouTube Channel. 

WWLL Championship Photos by Clay Lyons.

Third Place Game

Cal Poly B 13, UC Santa Cruz 4

Full Schedule & Results

• WWLL D1 Brackets
• WWLL D2 Brackets
• WWLL Master Schedule
• WWLL On Tourney Machine

Top Seeded Teams Advance On First Day Of WWLL Championships

The seeds held true on day one of the WWLL Championships.  The #1 & #2 seeded teams UC San Diego and Cal State San Marcos both won their semifinals and will play for the WWLL Division Two championship on Sunday.  The top two seeds in Division One had to battle through quarterfinals and semifinals on Saturday but persevered.  Top seeded UCLA will face the club from ASU, the #2 seed. 

In the first quarterfinal of the day 8^th seed and host team Grand Canyon University kept it interesting with #1 UCLA the whole game before eventually the Bruins persevered 10-8.  The Lopes played their best game of the year when the chips were down but UCLA finished with some ball control to preserve the win.  Fifth seeded Santa Clara similarly fought hard but fell to the club from San Diego State in the other quarterfinal on the same side of the bracket as UCLA.  That set up a semifinal between the Aztecs and UCLA, who had their closest game of the WWLL season with this club from SDSU.  Again the Bruins played well enough to win and advanced with a 16-13 victory. 

On the other side of the D1 bracket the club from ASU played University of Arizona for the second time in seven days and won 20-4 to easily advance to the semifinals.  Cal Poly had it a little tougher in their 13-7 win over the club from UC Davis.  The resulting semifinal between the Sun Devils and Cal Poly was close through most of the first half but then ASU distanced themselves and won 14-9. 

Division Two teams come to play in a final four team bracket for this event and they played in the afternoon time slots. The #1 UC San Diego and #2 Cal State San Marcos squads summarily dispatched their matchups on a march to a repeat of a regular season game between them. This time they will play for the WWLL D2 Championship.  UCSD won 17-4 over Cal Poly SLO B and Cal State San Marcos was successful 14-7 over UC Santa Cruz.  Both the Tritons and the Cougars play in WWLL South D2. UCSD won narrowly 12-11 in their game on March 6^th. The winner this time gets the crown and also the WCLA National Championship Tournament automatic qualifier (AQ) spot. 

ASU and UCLA have not played this year so the D 1 final features two teams that have only scouted each other but not yet matched up on the field. The game is intriguing in that sense with both vying for first place and the national implications of being a top five seed in the WCLA National Championship Tournament, or not, also factor into the result. 

Sunday Championship Games

• 10:00am – D2 #1 UCSD vs #2 Cal State San Marcos
• 1:00pm– D1 #1 UCLA vs #2 Arizona State

Full Schedule

• WWLL D1 Brackets
• WWLL D2 Brackets
• WWLL Master Schedule
• WWLL On Tourney Machine

WWLL Championship Scores

We have three way for everyone to keep up with scores the weekend of April 9 & 10 for the WWLL Championships. The WWLL website has a direct link to the brackets and the master schedule page will have scores posted. Additionally there's also a direct link to the scores on Tourney Machine if you're on the go and would like a mobile device screen size view.

• WWLL D1 Brackets
• WWLL D2 Brackets
• WWLL Master Schedule
• WWLL On Tourney Machine

Tune in to our live streaming on South Mountain Sports on their YouTube Channel to catch a game live or use one of the above to see a final score.

South Mountain Sports Is Livestreaming The WWLL Championships

South Mountain Sports is the livestream company for the WWLL Championships. Information and links to their streaming platform are on the South Mountain website http://southmountainsports.com. For a list of the games that have coverage please go to their website.

WWLL Championship Teams Selected

Teams have been selected and seeded for the WWLL Championship Tournament that is April 9th & 10th at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. UCLA and the club from Arizona State have received the #1 and #2 seeds, respectively, in Division One. The Bruins and the Sun Devils are undefeated against WWLL teams and have not played each other this year. UCLA received the #1 seed by virtue of fewest goals allowed in games among common opponents. After head to head results it is fewest goals allowed as the tie-breaker method in the WWLL By-Laws. 

Cal Poly SLO and San Diego State also haven't played this year so the fewest goals allowed tie-breaker gave the Mustangs the third seed and the Aztecs the fourth seed.  Santa Clara, UC Davis, Arizona and host Grand Canyon are in the five through eight spots.

UC San Diego is undefeated against all WWLL opponents, Division 1 & Division 2, and received the top seed in Division Two. It was their narrow one goal win over Cal State San Marcos in the regular season that got it for them. The Cougars have the second  seed.  UC Santa Cruz and Cal Poly SLO B are third and fourth seeds.

To see the brackets and more information about the tournament please visit the WWLL Post-Season Tournament information page.  Selected WWLL Championship Tournament games will be live-streamed by South Mountain Sports.

Arizona At Grand Canyon Livestream

The WWLL South D1 game between University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University will be live streamed by South Mountain Sports.  The winner of the game is virtually assured of qualifying for the WWLL Post-Season Tournament April 9th & 10th at Grand Canyon.  

• Saturday, March 26, 2022
• 11:00am - Arizona @ Grand Canyon (Livestream Link)

The game will also be available later via the South Mountain Sports YouTube channel.  South Mountain Sports is the live stream company for the WWLL Championships. 

WWLL Championships Schedule

The WWLL Championships are April 9 - 10, 2022 at Grand Canyon University and the game times for the Division One and Division Two brackets are set.  They are available on the Post-Season Tournament page of the WWLL website. Saturday preliminary games will be at 10:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm and 4:00pm. The WWLL All-League awards ceremony follows at 6:00pm. First and second all-league teams, Coach Of The Year and division MVPs are announced at the awards ceremony.  Play continues on Sunday with 10:00am, 12:00pm and 1:00pm games. The D2 final is at 10:00am Sunday on Field 1. The D1 final is at 1:00pm Sunday on Field 1. Both games will be live streamed by South Mountain Sports.

WWLL regular season play concludes on April 3rd and that evening the executive committee in charge of play-offs will announce seeds.  Division One will have teams seeded 1 - 8 and Division Two will have teams seeded 1 - 4. The winners of the WWLL D1 and D2 championship games receive an automatic qualifier sport in the WCLA National Championships in Round Rock, Texas in May. 

UC San Diego has contolled D2 play from the start. The Tritons are undefeated against WWLL opponents and are the slim favorite by virture of a 12-11 win over rival Cal State San Marcos. UCSD are 12-1 overall and 6-0 in South D2 play while the Cougars are 8-1, 4-1 with only the loss to UCSD. Oh, back to those Tritons. Their lone loss is a 10-9 decision at the hands of now #1 ranked in WCLA D2 Utah Valley team back on February 19th at the Santa Barbara Shootout. Utah Valley's only loss is to WCLA D1 5th ranked BYU. It looks like a UCSD vs San Marcos final in WWLL D2 but North D2 automatic qualifier UC Santa Cruz boasts a pretty good 9-1, 5-0 record and their lone loss is to UCLA B. The Banana Slugs have not played UCSD or San Marcos. UC Santa Cruz has played likely fourth team participant Cal Poly B and won that game 9-7 on February 27th. 

It's going to be just as competitive in D1 at the WWLL Championships. ASU has been storming through their WWLL schedule and is 10-0 overall and 2-0 so far in South D2 play.  The Sun Devils are also fourth ranked in all the land. Knocking on the door to face ASU in the final are the UCLA Bruins who are 7-2, 2-0 with a game left against UCSB. The Bruins are 6th ranked in the country, undefeated against WWLL teams and their losses were to 1st ranked Georgia and 2nd ranked Boston College in February. Resume losses?  Maybe but for sure toughness building and hunger creating games.

There's too much WWLL regular season play left to be able to announce the full field of eight D1 teams that will make the brackets but when the seeds are done and brackets are filled in they will be on-line here on the WWLL website and on Tourney Machine.

WWLL Championship Brackets

The brackets for the WWLL Championships have been posted. Team seeds and placements will be filled in on April 3rd.

• Division 1 Bracket
• Division 2 Bracket

More information about the WWLL Championships is on the post-season tournament info page of the WWLL website. 

Six WWLL Teams Are Ranked Nationally

It's been a hotly contested season so far and results have pushed two WWLL D1 teams and four D2 teams into the national rankings for the WCLA. As of the March 16th poll the club from Arizona State is 10-0 and ranked fourth. Close behind them is sixth ranked UCLA. The Bruins are 7-2 and only have losses at the hands of top ranked Georgia and the second ranked club from Boston College.

Highest up for the WWLL in the WCLA D2 rankings is 12-1 UC San Diego. The Tritons only loss was a 10-9 game with top ranked Utah Valley in February at the Santa Barbara Shootout. Cal State San Marcos is also in the hunt for a national championship tournament bid with their 6th spot in the rankings and their only loss a 12-11 to UC San Diego. Ninth ranked are UC Santa Cruz and 15th ranked are UC Irvine. The Banana Slugs are 9-1 and the Anteaters are 5-4.

SDSU Earns Key Road Wins in Arizona

San Diego State traveled to Arizona this past weekend playing a series of three games against division foes Arizona State, Grand Canyon and Arizona. The Aztecs have already been tested this season. They saw action against three of the top WCLA teams in the nation during the Golden State Invitational. They left the Invitational 0-3 but the experience of playing top competition seems to have paid off. 

This weekend was different. SDSU came away with a pair of huge victories over U. Arizona and GCU; which will leave them sitting in the D1 South Conference #1 spot (2-1) for the moment. For now, all they can do is sit back and see how the rest of the South Division unfolds. They didn't leave the weekend unscathed however, dropping a loss to ASU Saturday night. Tori Dacko was voted Player of the Game against U. Arizona with a stellar performance on defense. 

When asked about the weekend SDSU had this to respond via Instagram messenger.

“We are hyped about the win against UofA, and we still have more improvements to make on our road to playoffs. We're starting to really mesh well as a team and find our rhythm on the field and we’re excited to see what the season has in store for us.” 

UCLA Continues WWLL Dominance

UCLA has been nothing short of dominate in 2022. The Bruins are undefeated in WWLL Central D1 and Inter-Region play (6-0). UCLA started the season on fire outscoring their first three opponents 52 - 7 

Their only two losses on the season come from Boston College and Georgia who are both set to make runs to Nationals. UCLA is led by it's dynamic offense. They have four different goal scorers who already have at least 9 Goals on the season each. They are Sydney Riepl, Kailyn MnCulloch, Macy Anderson and Laurel Mardiney. The four have massed a combined41 Goals for UCLA this season. 

This past weekend was no different for UCLA. The Bruins came away with a 14-9 win over Santa Clara. Circle your calendars for this weekend. Sunday, March 6th, at 1:00PM UCLA will make the short trip to San Diego to face SDSU. 

Historic Return To Play For Four WWLL Teams

It were just two games. It were just two college lacrosse games. It were just the first two games of the 2022 season. But they were not just games. For the Gauchos, the Lumberjacks, the Waves and the Wildcats it was epic to get to play a regular season game that counted on their records. Coming out of a pandemic from the Covid-19 virus and all its variants they played a real game. These weren't just fall ball scrimmages and the feeling was different. They were the regular season openers for their WWLL and WCLA national schedules. NCAA lacrosse teams competed for conference and national championships in 2021 but MCLA and WCLA teams did not. Their time is now though.

UCSB rolled out of bed early on Saturday morning to make it from Santa Barbara to Malibu for a 10:00am game at Pepperdine. In the Grand Canyon State 580 miles away Northern Arizona had it more leisurely for their travel with a 6:00pm opener at University of Arizona in Tucson.

The Gauchos held a 5-1 lead at the end of the first quarter at Pepperdine. WCLA & WWLL games are using the four quarter format in the NCAA rules being utilized by the WCLA for the first time this season. UCSB led 8-7 at halftime and then distanced themselves in the second half to win 16-11 over the Waves. At University of Arizona the Lumberjacks surprised their hosts and took a 5-1 lead in the first quarter. The Wildcats clawed back and tied the game 8-8 before halftime. Arizona then eked out the 15-13 win over the competitive NAU program. 

Both Pepperdine and UCSB play Friday night lights games this week on January 28th. The Waves will host College of Saint Benedict of Minnesota at 7:00pm at Cal Lutheran University and the Gauchos host Grand Canyon University at 7:00pm at the UCSB Recreation Center Sports Complex. The Wildcats play next when they travel to USC on February 5th at 4:00pm. NAU is at Grand Canyon on February 5th at 4:00pm.

More than six hundred athletes on thirty-two teams in the Western Women's Lacrosse League are eagerly awaiting their opening day.  January 22nd will see the first two games of the season.

Saturday of the season opening weekend features UCSB at Pepperdine and it is the first game of the season with a 10:00am opening draw. The Gauchos are Central D1 Region while Pepperdine is Central D2. The second game of the day occurs when Northern Arizona travels to the Arizona Wildcats to play them at 6:00pm.

UCSB first year head coach Jessa Johnson feels like her team is ready to go for the matchup in Malibu with the Waves.

"We are excited to get back on the field after two years of being away. I know a lot of players are eager to get out there and play hard. We have a good mix of talent this year and I am excited to see where this first game takes us. I think the game will be a good balance of fun and challenge for both teams," said Johnson when asked about the game.

Editor's Note:  UC Santa Cruz at UC Irvine originally scheduled for January 22nd has been rescheduled for March 12th at 2:00pm.

Upcoming games and recent scores are available all season long on the WWLL website. 

Grand Canyon Hosting

It's the first time the Western Women's Lacrosse League post-season tournament will be conducted in Arizona and the Antelopes of Grand Canyon University are ready to host the league's premiere event. The tournament dates are April 9 - 10, 2022 and all rounds of the tournament are played in two days.

The WWLL D1 and D2 championships are conducted in two separate brackets played concurrently at the host institution. The winner of each division receives an automatic qualifier berth in the WCLA National Tournament.  That national championship event is May 4 - 7, 2022 in Round Rock, Texas.

The official WWLL Championship Tournament hotel is the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown. Family, fans and teams may use this Direct Reservation Link to get their rooms.  Sponsorship inquires and other questions about the WWLL Tournament may be directed to WWLL Commissioner Dave Woodson and Tournament Director Tracy Ramirez.