Final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Lacrosse Rankings

McDonogh School (Md.) has been named the No. 1 team in the final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Lacrosse Rankings.

This is familiar territory for the Eagles (18-0), who have completed three straight undefeated seasons and have a remarkable 69-game win streak.

McDonogh has won four straight IAAM Conference "A" championships. The IAAM is generally considered the top league in the country. As they have in the past, the Eagles also played a very strong out-of-league schedule, earning victories over Florida state champ Vero Beach, 15-5, and two Long Island powers, seven-time Class B state champ Garden City (20-9) and Hauppauge (14-1), in the Maryland-Long Island Challenge. McDonogh also dealt Maryland 3A/2A state champion Century its only loss of the year.

McDonogh had only one close game all year, a 12-11 victory over No. 6 Maryvale Prep (Md.) in the IAAM finals. In that game, senior Taylor Cummings won it with 9.8 seconds left to play.

Senior co-captain Corinne Etchison said after the IAAM title win over Maryvale Prep that being named a national champion is a byproduct of players who sacrifice individual goals for the team.

"This is the last time we will play with each other," said Etchison. "I will miss this program and I will miss coach (Chris) Robinson; we are all a big family and that is what I'm going to miss the most."

McDonogh also defeated No. 3 Bryn Mawr in the IAAM regular season, 16-8. The top-ranked team from Long Island was Catholic League champion and No. 4 St. Anthony's, which fell to Bryn Mawr in the Maryland-Long Island Challenge, 15-7.

The only other undefeated team was No. 2 Moorestown, which went 26-0 and claimed the New Jersey Tournament of Champions (which pits all four state champs) title Saturday with a 12-11 victory over Chatham. The Quakers play in a talent-laden state and have always made every effort to play top competition out of the state, but did not play the caliber of teams that McDonogh faced.

Being No. 2 behind McDonogh, though, is not exactly an indictment. Moorestown had won 10 straight state titles (three of them being T of C championships) and enjoyed a return to the elite this year after failing to win a state title the past two years following a 10-year run of state titles.

"From day one of preseason, winning yesterday's game was our season goal," said Moorestown junior Margaret Nissen. "Having missed out on the title the last couple of years made us a determined team. To reach the game, and then to actually win it, was amazing. For us to complete a 26-0 season will be something my teammates and coaches can share forever."

Final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Lacrosse Rankings

1. (No. 1 last week) McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), 18-0
The Eagles capped another perfect season – their third in a row – and won their 69th-straight game by downing Maryvale Prep, 12-11, to claim their fourth-straight IAAM Division A championship.

2. (2) Moorestown (N.J.), 26-0
Moorestown staved off a furious rally by Chatham in the final 13 minutes and claimed a 12-11 victory Saturday to win the New Jersey Tournament of Champions and complete a perfect season at Kean University. Moorestown led, 12-4, with 13 minutes to play, but Chatham went on a 7-0 run and drew within the 12-11 with 2:52 left. Moorestown was led by Carly Taglienti (two goals, three assists), Stephanie Toy (two goals, three assists), Nikki McMonagle (two goals, one assist) and Lindsay Goldblatt (two goals).

3. (3) Bryn Mawr (Baltimore), 16-2
The Mawrtians were eliminated by Maryvale Prep in the semifinals of the IAAM tournament. They finished second in the regular season and boasted impressive wins over St. Anthony's (15-7) and Garden City (8-3) in the Maryland-New York Challenge.

4. (4) St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 16-1
The Friars claimed their fifth-straight CHSAA championship by toppling Sacred Heart, 19-12.

5. (5) Century (Sykesville, Md.), 17-1
The Knights won their sixth state championship with a 12-9 victory over Queen Anne's in the Class 3A/2A title game. Century has reached the state championship game nine times in the school's 10-year history. The Knights' lone loss was to No. 1 McDonogh.

6. (6) Maryvale Prep (Brooklandville, Md.), 13-4
The Lions reached the finals of the IAAM A Conference Tournament, where they gave McDonogh all it could handle in a 12-11 loss. They also scored a memorable 9-7 victory over No. 2 seed Bryn Mawr in the semifinals. They won eight straight games until bowing to McDonogh.

7. (9) West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.), 20-1
The Wildcats defeated Penfield in the Class A state title game at SUNY-Cortland, 9-5. The Wildcats got off to a 4-1 lead, but had to regroup after Penfield tied it at five in the second half. Erica Geremia (four goals) and tourney MVP Emily Tripodi (two goals, four assists) led the second-half surge in helping West Genesee win its first title since 2008.

8. (11) Vero Beach (Fla.), 21-2
The Fighting Indians won their seventh-straight state title and extended their win streak over Florida opponents to 93 games with a 22-6 rout of Bishop Moore in the FHSAA final.

9. (12) St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (Alexandria, Va.), 27-3
The Saints capped the year with two championships, first winning the Independent School League crown with an 18-6 rout of Georgetown Visitation and then sweeping three games to claim the Virginia State Independent Tournament, capped by a 16-5 win over Bishop Ireton Saturday at Old Dominion.

10. (15) Garden City (N.Y.), 17-5
The Trojans claimed their seventh-straight Class B state championship by defeating Canandaigua, 13-8. Alexandra Bruno had six goals and two assists and Catherine Dickinson contributed five goals and an assist as the Trojans broke open a 6-6 game at halftime by outscoring their foes 7-2 in the second half.

11. (10) Chatham (N.J.), 23-3
The Cougars fell to Moorestown in the Tournament of Champions title game, 12-11. The State Group II champs nearly pulled off a miraculous rally, scoring the game's final seven goals to draw within one. Jaclyn Leto and Mary Kate O'Neill each had three goals and an assist for Chatham, while Kallan Murray and Kelsey Perselay each scored twice.

12. (8) Bay Shore (N.Y.), 19-2
The Long Island champion Marauders fell to Section 3 champion West Genesee in the state Class A semifinals, 10-9. Carly Cox, Cynthia Delcore, Kaitlyn Arnold and Caroline Delyra each had two goals for the Marauders, who lose only two seniors to graduation

13. (7) Ridgewood (N.J.), 22-3
The two-time defending champion Maroons fell to Chatham, 11-10, in the Tournament of Champions semifinals despite four goals by Kelci Smesko. Ridgewood won the state Group 4 championship.

14. (13) Georgetown Visitation Prep (Washington, D.C.), 20-2
The Tigers fell to St. Stephen's & St. Agnes in the finals of the Independent School League championship, 18-6.

15. (14) Farmingdale (N.Y.), 17-2
The Dalers suffered a heartbreaking 15-14 overtime loss to Bay Shore in the Long Island Class A championship.

16. (17) Severna Park (Md.), 17-2
The Falcons won their second-straight Maryland State 4A/3A championship with a 13-6 victory over Westminster.

17. (21) Garnet Valley (Glen Mills, Pa.), 24-3
Halley Barnes (two goals) scored 23 seconds into sudden-death overtime as the Jaguars completed a stunning comeback to down Strath Haven, 10-9, for their second consecutive PIAA championship. Allyson Heavens (three goals, one assist) scored with 46 seconds to play in regulation and Haley Warden (three goals) tied it at nine with 27 seconds left. Garnet Valley trailed 8-3 with 9:43 to play before scoring four goals to get back into the game. The Jags had been held scoreless for nearly 27 minutes before launching their comeback.

18. (22) Shoreham-Wading River (Shoreham, N.Y.), 17-3
Jessica Angerman and Paulina Constant each scored three goals to lead the Wildcats to an 11-9 come-from-behind victory over Honeoye-Falls Lima in the Class C state final at SUNY-Cortland. The win gave the Wildcats their fifth state championship in six years. Alex Fehmel added two goals and an assist and Katie Boden had two goals for the Wildcats.

19. (20) Ward Melville (East Setauket, N.Y.), 17-2
The Patriots fell to Bay Shore in the Suffolk County Class A title game, 11-5. Yuna Hur had two goals in the defeat.

20. (NR) New Canaan (Conn.), 21-1
Olivia Hompe pumped in nine goals as the Rams captured their second Class M title in three seasons with a 17-9 victory over Wilton. Sarah Mannelly scored four goals to help the attack and Liz O'Sullivan was a standout in goal.

21. (24) Sacred Heart Academy (Hempstead, N.Y.), 16-4
The Spartans reached the finals of the Catholic High School tournament, bowing to St. Anthony's, 19-12.

22. (25) West Morris Mendham (Mendham, N.J.), 19-5
The North Jersey Section 3 champion Minutemen were defeated by Moorestown in the state finals, 13-8.

23. (23) Marriotts Ridge (Marriottsville, Md.), 17-1
The Mustangs were stunned by arch-rival Mt. Hebron in the third round of the 3A/2A Maryland state playoffs, 10-8. The Mustangs were the District 5 champions.

24 (NR) Eastport-South Manor (Manorville, N.Y.), 15-4
The Sharks won the Section 11 Class B championship with a 14-9 win over Hauppauge. They were eliminated by eventual state champion Garden City in the Long Island championship, 11-7.

25. (16) Christian Brothers Academy (Syracuse, N.Y.), 20-2
The defending state champion Brothers fell to Shoreham-Wading River in the Class C state semifinals, 14-13. Marissa Romeo had a monster game for the Brothers, notching seven goals and two assists while Caroline Webster scored three goals.

Dropped out
Radnor (Pa.), 21-5, Shaker (Latham, N.Y.), 17-2

Chris Goldberg, editor and owner of Lacrosse Media, operates Phillylacrosse.com, LILacrosseNews.com and BaltimoreLacrosseNews.com, as well as the new national gear site, LaxGearZone.com. He may be reached at golax@phillylacrosse.com.