TOWN AND COUNTRY – The Eureka girls lacrosse team knew the gut-wrenching pain of state championship losses.
In the 2022 title game, the Wildcats led at halftime but did not score in the second half and suffered a heartbreaking defeat. The following year, they went scoreless for almost the entirety of the first half and endured another agonizing loss.
“We reflected a lot on what went wrong the past two state games,” Eureka coach Melissa Menchella said. “The nerves and pressure brought a lot of anxiety and we did not execute our gameplan.”
Armed with sticks with the word “Ours” written on them, the Wildcats strode into their third consecutive championship game appearance Saturday with a self-assured swagger.
“Everything was different this year,” Menchella said. “In the past it was, ‘We’re so nervous.’ This week the conversation was, ‘We feel so confident. We feel it in our bones, this is our year.’”
Their bones were right.
Senior Kylee Pickens scored in the opening minute and the Wildcats never looked back, defeating MICDS 18-10 in the Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association championship game Saturday at Missouri Baptist University.
Eureka (18-1), which received hat tricks from four different players, captured its first state title in girls lacrosse program history.
“This has been brewing,” Pickens said. “This is the third time I’ve been here, the second time for some, so we could be mentors and tell the new girls, ‘We don’t need to be nervous.’ I feel like it was just mental for us today. We knew what we were capable of.”
The state record holder in draw controls, Pickens won the opening draw and 31 seconds later gave Eureka a lead they would never relinquish.
“I knew off the bat I had to set the tone,” said Pickens, who finished with 10 draw controls, the 13th time she reached double-digits this season.
A gorgeous passing play through the midfield began with senior Lucy Knerr and resulted in a give-and-go that junior Katie Criswell delivered to sophomore Amelia Craig to make it 2-0.
Craig, a member of Eureka’s C-team last year, meticulously keeps a notebook of coaching wisdom from Menchella which she studies before games. Criswell, in her first varsity season, wore the No. 22 jersey of injured teammate and tennis team partner Bailey Boulay for the championship game.
“I didn’t know if I would make varsity this year, and then becoming a starter and accomplishing this, it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” said Criswell, who scored nine of her 24 goals during the postseason.
Eureka led 5-3 midway through the second quarter when Criswell scored on a free position shot and Craig converted a goal on a nifty spin move near the crease.
Then, sophomore Brooke Samuelson took over.
Samuelson, the primary draw-taker in the championship game last season, powered to the goal and scored, then converted a free position shot to give Eureka a 9-3 lead with 2:12 remaining until halftime.
“It hit me mid-game that I was not going to let my team leave here crying, not again,” said Samuelson, who scored three goals and secured eight draw controls. “I said, ‘I’ve got to go. I have to turn it up.’ In that moment, I just knew I had to step up my game.”
Eureka led 13-8 heading into a fourth quarter that had been a struggle during the playoffs. The Wildcats were outscored in the final frame by St. Joseph’s in the quarterfinal, then survived a late, three-goal blitz by John Burroughs in the semifinal before prevailing, 11-10.
“All year, we were getting off to slow starts, so our motto for the playoffs was “start strong,” Menchella said. “Against St. Joe and John Burroughs, we started strong but let them back in (the game), so it turned into “start strong and maintain.”
Eureka did more than maintain.
Ruby Copeland scored her fourth goal, Samuelson drained her third, Pickens scored her third and Amelia Craig scored her fourth before Emily Henderson, the leading scorer against John Burroughs, found the net for the first time.
“We worked really hard all year to have seven threats on the field,” Menchella said. “They are all confident in each other and they know how to play together. It’s magical to see how any girl can step up on any given day.”
MICDS (17-4), which received three-goal performances from junior Caroline Koman and freshman Josie Ciaramata, was held to 10 goals or fewer for only the third time this season – two coming against Eureka.
“The girls fought hard. We made some errors that we could control, and when you don’t take care of the ball and can’t get the draw, it makes it hard to score,” MICDS coach Kate Haffenreffer said.
Led by seniors Mia Fernandez and Claire Rickles, Eureka switched to primarily zone principles on defense this season. On Saturday, Samuelson provided pressure on area assist leader Ava Goldson while the other Wildcats denied cutters, successfully preventing MICDS from finding quality scoring chances.
“Honestly, this whole year has been focused on defense. We worked on limiting goals by stopping the ball, making contact in the right places and not allowing free positions,” Menchella said. “Playing that well against a team that’s stacked offensively shows it really paid off.”
And for Menchella, the payoff after two years of disappointment was worth every postgame moment, which included a Gatorade bath.
“I think I dreamed of this since 2021. I dreamed of watching my kids dogpile, I dreamed of celebrating with my coaching staff, I dreamed of finding my parents, hugging them and telling them we finally did it. To actually see it in reality, I was brought to tears,” she said.
Eureka joined Summit (2019) as the only public schools to win a girls lacrosse state title since 2001.
“I’m so proud of everyone on the team. We all had the same end-goal and we were all focused,” Pickens said. “I feel lucky to be a champion, not everybody gets to do that, and I feel lucky to a part of Eureka for four years. This program is so special.”
Photos for viewing/purchase at: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Girls-Lacrosse-2023-24