The McDonogh (Md.) girls’ lacrosse dynasty is in good hands.
The Eagles, who wrapped up a 22-0 season with their ninth consecutive IAAM championship in May, have won 177 consecutive games dating back to April 2009 and predictably finished as the No. 1-ranked team in the Nike/US Lacrosse National Top 25.
(Click here for a look inside the McDonogh dynasty, as told by graduating senior defender Nicole Alecce.)
Skaneateles (N.Y.) senior midfielder Kyla Sears, who came back from her second knee surgery in as many seasons to lead the Lakers to a state championship, is the Epoch/US Lacrosse National Player of the Year, as decided by US Lacrosse Magazine staff and contributors earlier this week.
Sears (Princeton) scored 61 goals and added 37 assists in 15 games after returning from a torn meniscus.
“I call her a warrior,” Marquardt said. “She gets knocked down and cross-checked and hit and takes double- and triple-teams and she just bounces up and keeps on going. She’s a tiny little girl (just 5-foot-3), but she plays like a 200-pound linebacker. She has no fear.
Nike/US Lacrosse National Top 25
1. McDonogh (Md.), 22-0
2. Garden City (N.Y.), 20-1
3. Glenelg (Md.), 20-0
4. Notre Dame Prep (Md.), 19-3
5. Mount Sinai (N.Y.), 18-2
6. Bridgewater-Raritan (N.J.), 22-1
7. Ridgewood (N.J.), 21-1
8. Bishop Ireton (Va.), 19-5
9. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Va.), 27-2
10. Darien (Conn.), 20-3
11. Pittsford (N.Y.), 20-1
12. Middle Country (N.Y.), 18-4
13. Skaneateles (N.Y.), 18-4
14. Milton (Ga.), 17-4
15. Loyola (Ill.), 28-2
16. Oak Knoll (N.J.), 21-5
17. Summit (N.J.), 19-3
18. Moorestown (N.J.), 20-3
19. Christian Brothers (N.Y.), 16-4
20. Eastport-South Manor (N.Y.), 15-3
21. Archbishop Carroll (Pa.), 24-1
22. Needham (Mass.), 23-3
23. Bayport-Blue Point (N.Y.), 13-4
24. Agnes Irwin (Pa.), 21-5
25. Fayetteville-Manlius (N.Y.), 17-4
Epoch/US Lacrosse National Player of the Year
Kyla Sears, Skaneateles (N.Y.)