St. John's makes the most of its second chance, wins DCSAA girls' lacrosse title

Washington Post

18-05-2025

In a D.C. State Athletic Association girls' lacrosse championship rematch, No. 2 seed St. John's got its revenge on No. 1 Georgetown Visitation, 14-10. A second-half scoring surge by the Cadets halted a potential Cubs three-peat at Catholic University Sunday afternoon.
Just like last season, both programs entered the DCSAA tournament after disappointing losses in their respective conference tournaments. With those defeats still fresh, both teams were eager for another shot at postseason hardware. Last season, the Cubs beat St. John's, 9-6, to earn their second consecutive state crown.
The Cubs led 7-5 at halftime, just two quarters away from a three-peat. But the Cadets came out strong after the break, scoring three unanswered goals — two from sophomore Riley Kimmel — to take a one-goal lead within the first three minutes of the second half.
St. John's (14-7) kept Visitation's offense scoreless in the second half until 10 minutes remained, building a lead that was strong enough to deliver a championship.
'This means everything," said Cadets junior Claire Shannon, who was awarded the game's most valuable player award. 'We lost last year in our state championship, we lost our conference championship this year, and when most teams would turn the corner and be ready for the season to be over, we rose to the occasion, and I owe it all to the team.'
Visitation junior Mackenzie Rassas and senior Quinn Murray had two goals each in the first half, helping the Cubs (12-9) take their lead at the break. But the Cadets' scoring run in the third quarter put them in position for the upset — Visitation scored three goals in the fourth quarter, but St. John's kept the Cubs at a distance until the final whistle.
'Our theme of the game was just '12 minutes.' Twelve minutes at a time," Shannon said. 'Sometimes, with underclassmen and a less experienced team, it's easy to get caught up in the nerves and the pressure of the moment. So, I just kept reminding them to treat each quarter as if it is its own game, focusing on working as hard as you can for those 12 minutes.'
With just five seniors on the St. John's roster, and one sidelined due to injury (Meg Chen, a University of Chicago signee), Coach Hillary Fratzke credited the resilience of her seniors.
'I will say, the senior class, from a cultural standpoint, has meant absolutely everything," Fratzke said. 'These seniors have bought into the idea of 'it's not about me.' It is really about everyone around me, and how we can lift one another. And the more that they bought into that, the more that you saw it as a result on the team.'