BALLWIN – As a sophomore on junior varsity last season, Emmy Seiler sat in the stands and watched the Eureka varsity lacrosse team play for a state championship.
“I remember thinking, ‘This could be me next year.’” Seiler recalled. “I prepared over the summer and during the preseason to be ready for this moment.”
Seiler scored a career-high five goals and junior Emily Emerson controlled the draw circle as Eureka defeated Ladue 14-7 to win the Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association state championship Saturday at Parkway West High.
Eureka (19-1), which played in the state title game for the fifth consecutive season, won its second championship in the past three years.
The first championship game in 26 years that featured two public school teams had its share of oddities. After senior Amelia Craig scored to give Eureka a 5-2 lead early in the second quarter, a bolt of lightning appeared in an otherwise calm sky. It began a weather delay that lasted nearly three hours.
“It was a great opportunity to reset and recalibrate, even though it was a long delay,” Craig said. “We also got to reconnect with each other. We wanted to spend as much time together as we could, and we really cherished it.”
Eureka coach Melissa Menchella offered players the opportunity to leave the stadium during the extensive delay. None did.
“They were together the whole time. They were dancing, they were laughing, they were singing,” Menchella said. “Every time I told them, ‘Another delay, another delay,’ there was no sigh, no frustration, no complaints. This group just loves spending time together, and the three-hour rain delay was just more time for them to be together.”
Ladue sophomore Irene Murphy scored the first goal after the restart, but the sharp execution from Eureka never wavered. Junior goalie Sam Laudano made two outstanding saves on Ladue crease roll attempts and kicked out another sneaky shot with her right shoetop.
“Being goalie is really a mental game and you have to stay locked in whether you’re on or off the field,” said Laudano who saved eight of 13 shot attempts. “Even while we were waiting, I was mentally preparing myself. I watched some film, looked at where they were shooting, and just made sure I was in the right headspace when we got back out there.”
Seiler scored after receiving a feed from Tessa Srsen to give the Wildcats a 6-3 halftime lead. Early in the third quarter, Seiler drained a free position shot, then fired a left-handed laser for her third consecutive goal and powered Eureka to a five-goal advantage.
The first-year varsity player scored 12 of her 34 goals during the Wildcats playoff run, including the game-winner with three seconds remaining to beat Visitation in the state quarterfinals. On Saturday, she delivered five goals on the very stage where she envisioned playing a year earlier.
“Emmy was a focal point in our offensive execution,” Menchella said. “I pulled her aside before the game and said, ‘You’re our secret weapon, and if you show up today, there’s no doubt in my mind that things will go our way.”
And things also went the Wildcats’ way in the draw circle. Emerson, who surpassed 300 career draw controls during the playoff run, collected 16 on championship Saturday. Before each draw, she listened for her teammates around the circle and took a glance towards the sidelines.
“I focus on doing my thing, and my circle girls are talking to me. I calm down when I hear that they’re all with me,” Emerson explained. “And I always look at (Coach Menchella) on the sidelines. She doesn’t really tell me anything because she thinks I know better than her, but it reassures me that I’m going to be ok.”
Ladue (14-4) did not score consecutive goals during the game, in large part to Emerson’s ability to control the draw with remarkable consistency. During the second half, four different Rams tried their hand against Emerson in the draw circle, to no avail.
“(Emerson) is so dominant,” Ladue coach Carrie Lampe said. “You can make every adjustment you want, and we tried pretty much everything, but we were stuck in a bind. We couldn’t string together draw controls, so we couldn’t necessarily string together goals.”
Midway through the third quarter, a draw infraction by Ladue resulted in a fourth penalty, and the Rams had to play shorthanded for the remainder of the game, thwarting any hope for a comeback.
“Playing Eureka at full strength is hard enough, but to play them a person-down for almost an entire half was a very difficult adjustment for us,” Lampe said.
For Ladue, which graduated its entire defense and 89 goals between Yael Sabin and Izzy Dodson last season, a state runner-up trophy in 2026 was unexpected.
“Colette (Brennan) and Vicky (Derdoy) willed us here. They dreamed about this since they were freshman, and they put us on their backs,” Lampe said. “We had senior leaders, young players that weren’t scared and returning players that had monster seasons. They all showed up really big for us.”
Sadie Steinbach scored two goals, Derdoy had three assists and freshman goalie Lillian Schappe made 10 saves to lead Ladue.
Eight seniors on this Eureka team were part of the Brave Lacrosse 2026 youth team, coached by Menchella. When they were rising freshman, Menchella and her coaching staff made a bold prediction.
“We said that 2026 will be our year for a state championship. We’ve always known. We’ve been saying, ‘2026 state champs’ for five years now, and to watch them grow and to watch them do it, it warms my heart,” Menchella said.
Eureka used four words to guide their mindset this season: Support, Humility, Execute and Prove.
“We wanted to be there for each other, play for our community, follow through on the field, and prove ourselves,” Craig said. “Everyone bought into it, and this is the fruit of our labor.”
Emerson added, “I’m so proud that our fans got to see this today. Our town gave us an escort, they stayed through the rain. This is for everyone.”
For a photo gallery from this game, click the link below: