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Serving the scholastic field hockey and lacrosse community since 1998April 27, 2027 — Half a loaf
Today, beginning at 10 a.m. at Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.), the annual Gains for Brains Showcase will be played.
Ten games featuring 20 teams from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will cross sticks for some amazing lacrosse action and fundraising for the Making Headway Foundation.
This year, all of the games on the lower field at the school are scheduled to be livestreamed on the NFHS Network. And truth be told, it’s an awesome reason to get your subscription now, even though the upper field games (including last year’s national No. 1 team Darien) are not on the NFHS Network docket. And that Darien team has to be hopping mad after finishing a 5-5 overtime tie against New Canaan on Thursday.
Each of these games are intersectional matches, each with regional implications. I think the two best games of the ten are the Upper Field match between Manhasset (N.Y.) and Darien (Conn.) at 6 p.m., and South Huntington St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) against Summit (N.J.) at 3 p.m. on the lower field.
If you’re able, go see this amazing showcase or tune in on the NFHS Network. These should be some special, special games.
April 26, 2024 — Friday Statwatch for games played through April 24
The 2024 statistical picture is taking place, slowly, as teams around the country conclude their seasons with others just getting going. The current national goals leader, Morgan Siglin, is a junior at Greenville Wade Hampton (S.C.), which played its final game a week ago losing to crosstown rival Christ Church Episcopal 23-12, meaning that Siglin’s 142 goals this season is themark that everyone else is going to be aiming for.
One of those making a charge is last year’s national scoring champion Caroline Ling. As of the close of play Wednesday (where we make these statistical snapshots), she had scored 94. Thing is, her team, Springboro (Ohio), has eight more games this season, plus any playoff matches. If she keeps at this pace, she is likely to break Fran Frieri’s national record for goals scored in a four-year varsity career. But it will be very close.
What you see below are statistics from available published sources, including MaxPreps, Berks Game Day, the KHSAA, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, PhillyLacrosse, and Advance Media.
I encourage every school, league, or state governing body to adopt the easy-to-use MaxPreps.com platform, and we encourage you to get your fellow teams to enter their information there as well as whichever is your local news site, so that we can aim for as complete a statistical picture of American girls’ lacrosse as possible.
GOALS SCORED, SEASON
142 Morgan Siglin, Greenville Wade Hampton (S.C.)
120 Riley Sterling, Palo Alto Castilleja (Calif.)
114 Mackenzie Farley, San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s (Calif.)
107 Maya Ciocian, Ashville T.C. Robertson (N.C.)
104 Ryann Sigloch, Riverside Polytechnic (Calif.)
102 Sophy Peterson-Brown, Kennesaw North Cobb Christian (Ga.)
102 Kaitlyn Manderano, Woodstock River Ridge (Ga.)
101 Teagan Scott, Mount Pleasant Oceanside Collegiate Academy (S.C.)
100 Isabella Kuhn, Wendell Corinth Holders (N.C.)
100 Ashley Cotter, St. Augustine Tocoi Creek (Fla.)
100 Riley Jarrett, Vista Murrietta (Calif.)
ASSISTS, SEASON
90 Maddisen Selvage, Pawley’s Island Waccamau (S.C.)
82 Jenna Balousek, Concord Carondelet (Calif.)
80 Julia Frosch, Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic
78 Taylor McGovern, Sophia Richardson, Lexington Sayre (Ky.)
74 Kayla Nguyen, Cary Green Hope (N.C.)
64 Riley Lemessurier, Peachtree City McIntosh (Ga.)
58 Isabella French, Bradenton Manatee (Fla.)
57 Rocquette Allen, Highlands Ranch ThunderRidge (Colo.)
57 Isabelle John, Wake Forest (N.C.)
55 Lauren Hayden, Newport Croatan (N.C.)
GOALS SCORED, CAREER
467 Caroline Ling, Springboro (Ohio)
343 Kylee Ferranto, Haddon Heights (N.J.)
264 Morgan Siglin, Greenville Wade Hampton (S.C.)
COMBINED GOALS AND ASSISTS, CAREER
596 Caroline Ling, Springboro (Ohio)
429 Taylor McGovern, Parkland Margery Stoneman Douglas (Fla.)
418 Kylee Ferranto, Haddon Heights (N.J.)
359 Teagan Scott, Mount Pleasant Oceanside Collegiate Academy (S.C.)
ACTIVE COACHING VICTORIES
862 Kathy Jenkins|
513 Lisa Lindley
467 Chris Robinson
This is what I have been able to compile from various sources. But here’s where you, gentle reader, can be of help. If you see something missing, feel free to send an email to us at TopOfTheCircle.com. Send us some evidence (a website will do), and we can make corrections.
I thank everyone for tuning into this feature and we’ll try to be less suboptimal next week.
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April 25, 2024 — The rule of five?
The quarterfinal round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament yielded some good games and a result which could leave one of the nation’s finest programs on the proverbial tournament bubble.
That team is the North Carolina Tar Heels. This is a team which won a national title just two years ago, and have assembled a roster full of recruits and transfers which should be the envy of the rest of Division I. Bur several major injuries to key players have enervated the fortunes of this side.
Yesterday, UNC lost by a goal to Virginia, which is a team very much in the ascendancy. As a result, North Carolina stands at 10-6 on the season, which ordinarily would be a very good season. However, when you look at the body of work for North Carolina from an NCAA Tournament Committee viewpoint, the resume may not be able to put them in the field.
First off, when you look at key wins, two of their wins over ranked teams came in February, in wins over Florida and Virginia. The Tar Heels did not beat another Top 15 team the rest of the season. The Tar Heels were 0-6 against teams ranked in the single digits.
What that has done is put UNC at No. 18 in the Ratings Percentage Index, that formula which takes into account a team’s won-loss record, their opponents’ won-loss records, and their opponents’ opponents.
When you look at the top 20, there are five ACC teams, and five Big Ten teams. It’s likely that these two conferences are going to go four deep. The question is, with 14 at-large bids, will the fifth teams from each of these two superconferences — UNC at 18 and Penn State at 23 — make it into the bracket?
Now, I realize that the women’s lacrosse committee has historically not gone with RPI ratings the way that the field hockey committee has at times. But with five Ivy League teams in the top 25 of RPI, could this change the way the committee chooses their at-large sides?
It’s going to be a very interesting Selection Sunday.
April 24, 2024 — The “killer app” of sports?
In the last few days, Caitlin Clark has signed a contract to play basketball for the Indiana Fever, agreed to a shoe contract in the eight-figure range with Nike, and saw at least three WNBA teams either propose or make changes to their home games whenever Indiana comes to town.
Here in the U.S., there have been a number of times over history when a singular product, available in only one place, creates an enormous demand that affects local and even national economies, including entire industries.
One of the first times this happened was when Milton Berle became such a reknowned television star after his vaudeville and radio appearances that the sale of televisions grew by some two million in 1949. Given the scant number of homes with TVs back then, that was an enormous growth.
There have been measurable economic effects from popular recording artists such as Beyonce and Taylor Swift, who have seen fans flock to not only concerts, but to local hotels, bars, and restaurants. The Chicago Sun-Times estimated that Swift’s tour led to some $5 billion in economic activity.
Too, their presences on digital music streaming services has led to large amounts of money spent on them. For a time, Tidal was bolstered by exclusive content from Beyonce.
But there have also been a number of sports performers whose popularity led to a clamoring for tickets. In the 1970s, when Pele came to the New York Cosmos, his inaugural game took place in June 1975 at Downing Stadium in New York. The throngs of people coming to see him took over not only the bleachers at the old park, but hillsides and bridges overlooking the facility.
In more recent years, there has been a bump up in ticket demand when David Beckham joined the Los Angeles Galaxy 20 years ago. More recently, there have been instances when games were moved to larger arenas to accommodate the throngs of fans looking to witness Lionel Messi playing for Inter Miami.
Clark is set to have major economic and social effects on women’s basketball and American sport.
But, like Messi, there are going to be a lot of unspoken pressures. And part of that is the pressure to perform or to even take the pitch. On more than one occasion the last six months, he missed out on games which saw fans pay thousands of dollars to see either the Argentina national team or Inter play live.
With Clark, she is being asked to play a 40-game schedule between May 14 and September 19. That would only be about six weeks after concluding a 39-game season with the University of Iowa.
It’s a tall task, and one which could overwhelm players. We’ve seen players come into the league and succeed for a time before the time in the limelight consumed them — players like Chamique Holdsclaw, Shoni Schimmel, and Liz Cambage.
I’m hoping that Clark will have an injury-free and controversy-free initial season. If she does, the ceiling for the professional women’s game is unlimited.
April 23, 2024 — Top 10 for the week of April 21
Has this been a fun season, or what?
A number of our Top 10 teams have had to earn hard wins over their intersectional rivals. This includes last week’s enormous triple-OT win on the past of No. 1 St. Anthony’s over Darien (Conn.). And think of this: there’s going to be some great games this Saturday in the Gains for Brains showcase as well as a game in just two days featuring FCIAC rivals Darien and New Canaan (Conn.).
1. South Huntington St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) 8-0
The Friars got an overtime goal from Brooke Long on an amazing skip pass from Kat Rathjen to pull out a 5-4 win. Alexandra Zenk, in the goal cage, was once again immense for St. Anthony’s, making a bunch of crucial saves in overtime. St. Anthony takes on Summit (N.J.) this weekend in the Gains for Brains showcase
2. Olney Good Counsel (Md.) 16-0
The Falcons have scored 294 goals this season. Do the math; this team is an offensive juggernaut
3. Owings Mills McDonogh (Md.) 12-1
Eagles got a key road win against Bel Air John Carroll (Md.) on Sunday; next Monday, the team finishes off its IAAM schedule against Brooklandville St. Paul’s School for Girls (Md.)
4. New Canaan (Conn.) 5-1
The Rams bested Rumson-Fair Haven (N.J.) and Greenwich (Conn.) last week; the Thursday derby against Darien should be an absolute classic
5. Darien (Conn.) 4-2
The Blue Wave had their chances last week against St. Anthony’s but found the going tough against an aggressive defense in front of a fine goaltender
Trojans met Darien (Conn.) yesterday and have Manhasset (N.Y.) on the weekend
6. Manchester (Md.) Valley 7-0
Key result from last week was an 8-7 win over Sykesville Century (Md.)
7. Garden City (N.Y.) 8-1
Trojans have a tough road triple with North Shore (N.Y.), Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.) and a Gains For Brains showdown with Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.)
8. Newtown Square Episcopal Academy (Pa.) 13-1
The Churchwomen got stopped last time out against Rosemont Agnes Irwin (Pa.)
9. Charlottesville St. Anne’s Belfield (Va.) 15-1
Beat Washington Georgetown Visitation (D.C.) 17-9 in an intriguing result
10. Denver Colorado Academy (Colo.) 11-0
Beat Englewood Kent Denver (Colo.) 9-5 to highlight last week
Who’s out: None
And bear in mind: Danville San Ramon Valley (Calif.) 15-1, San Francisco St. Ignatius (Calif.) 12-4, Lakeville Hotchkiss School (Conn.) 6-0, Sacred Heart Greenwich (Conn.) 8-1, Delray American Heritage (Fla.) 17-1, Orlando Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) 16, Brooklandville St. Paul’s School for Girls (Md.) 12-3, Hingham Notre Dame Academy (Mass.) 6-0, Summit (N.J.) 7-1, Bayport-Blue Point (N.Y.) 8-2, Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.) 7-1, Manhasset (N.Y.) 6-2, New Albany (Ohio) 9-0, Radnor Archbishop Carroll (Pa.) 9-1, Rosemont Agnes Irwin (Pa.) 4-3
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April 22, 2024 — An appropriate coach for an appropriate task
I didn’t want to let too much time go by before acknowledging the retirement of another great sports team coach.
Tara VanDerveer retired last week after 38 years at Stanford and three national championships. She also retired as the winningest Division I basketball coach, men’s or women’s.
But VanDeveer had a career achievement during which she held an entire sport on her shoulders. In 1995 and 1996, she coached the U.S. women’s basketball team on a 10-month, 100,000-mile journey to showcase and sell the game of women’s basketball to the general public.
That journey ended in the Georgia Dome in August of 1996 with a 111-87 win over Brazil.
Now, it’s not hyperbole that VanDerveer and the U.S. team were carrying the hopes of professional women’s basketball — encapsulated in a short-lived group called the American Basketball League, and its successor, the Women’s National Basketball Association. Any drop in form, any scandal, or (heaven forbid) a loss would have resulted in the fleeing of team owners and sponsors which were lined up to market these women.
The roster of the 1996 team featured more than its share of legendary players. Dawn Staley, Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, Teresa Edwards, and Nikki McCray are, to this day, part of the fabric of women’s basketball.
Somehow, VanDerveer was able to balance the talents of the players, get them to check their egos, and kept them playing at a high level for 60 games without loss.
That, to me, is VanDerveer’s greatest accomplishment. Sure, there have been good and great women’s basketball players since the first Olympic basketball tournament for women in 1976, but the group of women from 1996 have shaped the way the game is played, coached, and viewed on the professional and amateur levels. Heck, you’re seeing magazines publishing lists of high-school prospects, ranking them like has been done for the men’s game.
It’s pretty amazing that all of this happened in less than 30 years. And we have VanDerveer to thank for this.
April 21, 2024 — A slightly annoying overlap
Yesterday, there were about 40 regular-season women’s lacrosse teams on the docket.
Today, the postseason begins for four Atlantic Coast Conference teams. These are the two play-in games for Virginia Tech, Louisville, Clemson, and Pittsburgh as they seek to play next week in the quarterfinals in Charlotte.
As we were talking about a couple of days ago, the backing out of the regular season into January, as well as the backing out of the NCAA Tournament to give participating teams their own broadcast windows on ESPN two Thursdays before the Final Four, has led to a number of strange and odd schedule quirks. What used to be a quick conference tournament season is now a marathon leading to Selection Sunday.
There’s been something like this happening in other college sports when it comes to schedule creep. In basketball, the NCAA Division I men’s tournament used to be finished up by March 31st — hence the trademarked and heavily-guarded trademark “March Madness.”
But it is notable that the last NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament that finished before the start of April was all the way back in 1989. Since then, what had been March Madness has culminated the following month.
And so it goes.
April 20, 2024 — A great competition — if you can find it
A couple of weekends ago, we were privileged to attend the opening week of competition in the Next Collegiate Lacrosse League, a competition for Sixes lacrosse clubs which have come mostly from historically-black colleges and universities.
The first year, the league played most of its games at Ludwig Field at the University of Maryland. The second year, it was at Tierney Field at U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters.
This year, the movable feast has included the indoor facility at The St. James in Woodbridge, Va., Bowie State University, the Maryland Soccerplex, and this weekend’s slate of games which is being played tomorrow at Howard Community College in Columbia, Md.
And usually, the site announcement and list of league fixtures has come only about five days before gameday.
If you want to see some exciting lacrosse, you need to be tuned into the Next Collegiate Lacrosse feed on X in order to see the schedule and site of competition. It will be well worth your time and effort to see these games.
April 19, 2024 — Friday Statwatch for games played through April 17
It’s been a week of some amazing contests, as well as amazing performances by top players.
This week, we saw last year’s national scoring champion, Caroline Ling, put up 14 goals in a game twice for Springboro (Ohio). What this has done is start her climb to the top ranks of goal-scorers and combined goals and assists all time.
Even though Springboro is just 5-3 on the season, every opponent on the schedule has to account for that No. 9 in a Panther jersey.
What you see below are statistics from available published sources, including MaxPreps, Berks Game Day, the KHSAA, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, PhillyLacrosse, and Advance Media.
I encourage every school, league, or state governing body to adopt the easy-to-use MaxPreps.com platform, and we encourage you to get your fellow teams to enter their information there as well as whichever is your local news site, so that we can aim for as complete a statistical picture of American girls’ lacrosse as possible.
GOALS SCORED, SEASON
136 Morgan Siglin, Greenville Wade Hampton (S.C.)
100 Mackenzie Farley, San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s (Calif.)
100 Ashley Cotter, St. Augustine Tocoi Creek (Fla.)
97 Ella Strong, Palm Beach Cardinal Newman (Fla.)
94 Riley Sterling, Palo Alto Castilleja (Fla.)
93 Maya Ciocian, Ashville T.C. Robertson (N.C.)
93 Teagan Scott, Seneca Ocoee Christian Academy (S.C.)
93 Susan Lowther, Sarasota Riverview (Fla.)
92 Sophy Peterson-Brown, Kennesaw North Cobb Christian (Ga.)
92 Ryann Sigloch, Riverside Polytechnic (Calif.)
ASSISTS, SEASON
90 Maddisen Selvage, Pawley’s Island Waccamau (S.C.)
76 Julia Frosch, Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic
72 Jenna Balousek, Concord Carondelet (Calif.)
67 Talor McGovern, Sophia Richardson, Lexington Sayre (Ky.)
58 Isabella French, Bradenton Manatee (Fla.)
56 Riley Lemessurier, Peachtree City McIntosh (Ga.)
52 Caelyn Little, Anderson T.L. Hanna (S.C.)
52 Catherine Barhorst, Fort Mill Nation Ford (S.C.)
52 Lily Westbrook, Raleigh Leesville Road (N.C.)
52 Isabelle John, Wake Forest (N.C.)
GOALS SCORED, CAREER
445 Caroline Ling, Springboro (Ohio)
333 Kylee Ferranto, Haddon Heights (N.J.)
COMBINED GOALS AND ASSISTS, CAREER
574 Caroline Ling, Springboro (Ohio)
410 Taylor McGovern, Parkland Margery Stoneman Douglas (Fla.)
407 Kylee Ferranto, Haddon Heights (N.J.)
358 Teagan Scott, Seneca Ocoee Christian Academy (S.C.)
ACTIVE COACHING VICTORIES
860 Kathy Jenkins|
512 Lisa Lindley
465 Chris Robinson
This is what I have been able to compile from various sources. But if you see something missing, feel free to send an email to us at TopOfTheCircle.com. Send us some evidence (a website will do), and we can make corrections.
Thanks for reading, and we’ll try to throw something more coherent together in seven days.
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April 18, 2024 — Backing out the schedule
Hey, quick question: how many league fixtures are left in the two most prominent conferences in women’s lacrosse — the ACC and Big Ten?
Well, as of the end of today’s play, one.
Yep, one. That’s a Sunday game between Michigan and Northwestern. which ends the Big Ten season.
If that stuns you, it really is no surprise. Women’s lacrosse starts in early February for many teams, and the current Division I tournament is much different from what it was 30 years ago, when there were two play-in games in the semifinal round and two teams made the Final Four automatically.
Today, the Division I women’s lacrosse field is nearly 30 sides whittled down from 129 total teams, and plays a month-long tournament over four rounds, including a Thursday quarterfinal quadrupleheader with the Final Four taking place eight days later.
And it is much different from Division I field hockey. Field hockey has nearly 80 teams, but the Division I tournament’s 18 teams play down to its champion over only 12 days.
It used to be that this time of year was midseason for women’s lacrosse teams. Now, the postseason awaits at the Ides of March.
Something doesn’t seem right with the regular season ending this early.
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