Almost an hour after the final whistle, dozens remained on Tierney Field at US Lacrosse Headquarters on Saturday night. Most were Women’s Professional Lacrosse League staffers, sporting neon green shirts and picking up pieces of confetti from the celebration that had just finished.

WPLL founder Michelle DeJuliis joined the crew in picking up the celebratory confetti — gifted to the New England Command for winning the league’s inaugural championship, and scattered all over midfield. 

There, DeJuliis reflected on the first season of her new league, which began on June 2 and finished with the championship on Saturday.

“It’s been a culmination of everybody putting their best foot forward throughout the season,” she said. “Every weekend we come out we try to make it an amazing experience for the women. … You can’t ask for a better championship arena and you can’t ask for a better championship competitively.”

Before the clean-up effort, fans at a crowded Tierney Field were treated to a battle between the top two teams in the WPLL — the top-seeded and undefeated Baltimore Brave and the second-seeded New England Command. As many expected. the game went back-and-forth, with eight ties and three lead changes.

Following a timeout with 1:04 left, the Brave controlled possession. But the Command defense held steady for 30 seconds, forcing a turnover and corralling the ground ball. Amber McKenzie dished it to Taryn Van Thof at midfield, who fired a pass to Aly Messinger, who finished in front to give the Command the 12-11 lead with 19.5 seconds left — what proved to be the game-winner.

WHAT A GAME. @NE_Command gets the turnovers and Aly Messinger scores the game-winner with 19.5 seconds left to seal the @prowomenslax title. pic.twitter.com/8XusM559AH

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) July 14, 2018

Messinger’s goal was the exclamation point to the Command’s season, and it helped hand the Brave its first loss. On what Messinger said wasn’t her best shooting day, she scored when it mattered.

“The middies and defenders did an unbelievable job to strip the ball and come as fast down the field as they could,” she said. “They had a lot of good options, and they slid up. I was the open girl and probably could have passed one more, but I saw the open shot and I took it. I’m pretty happy that the one shot I got on cage was that one.”

Command coach Amy Patton said she had a feeling her team would turn the game around after its final timeout, down 11-10, with more than two minutes left.

“As a coach, you just see a look in their eyes coming out of a timeout,” she said. “It’s either a look or ‘we’re going to lose’ or a look of ‘we’re going to win.’ When we came out of that timeout, we were going to win. The sense that I got from them was they were confident. They got it done.”

DeJuliis was sitting with WPLL Commissioner and Maryland great Jen Adams as the final seconds ticked down.

“I was like ‘Look at this. This is amazing.’” DeJuliis said. “It was back-and-forth, back-and-forth.”

The Command took home the victory in what was a battle between two sides for much of the 60-minute, four-quarter game. Baltimore jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Alyssa Leonard and Amanda Johansen.

New England responded with back-to-back goals from Kasey Behr to help level the game at 3-3 heading into the second quarter. The teams traded goals in that period, with Johansen picking up her second, leading to a 5-5 game at the break.

Behr made it a hat trick out of the break to give the Command its first lead, but the Brave bounced back with three straight to take an 8-6 advantage. U.S. national team gold medalists Marie McCool, Brooke Griffin and Laura Zimmerman each scored in the run. McCool was named league MVP after the game.

Baltimore held a two-goal advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but Ela Hazar and Kara Mupo started a New England rally to tie the game at 9-9 with less than 12 minutes left. Again, the teams traded goals until Hazar tied it at 11-11 with 1:30 left.

With 1:30 left, @messinwithmupo scores her third goal and ties the game up! https://t.co/DhBWVFMO9m pic.twitter.com/2DCVl1Ys1p

— WPLL (@prowomenslax) July 14, 2018

Although the Brave won the ensuing draw, the Command’s defense did not wilt, fueling the go-ahead score from Messinger on the other end of the field.

It was a fast-paced thriller that capped a six-week season for the WPLL, one from which it hopes to build.

“The rules they've come up with for the league is really fun for the fans,” Patton said. “It’s like streetball at its best out there. How dynamic and fast and strong these players are, there’s a lot of wow factor there. It’s like putting on a show for the fans. It’s a really beautiful, athletic show for these women.”

The WPLL adapted a set of rules with excitement for fans and the Olympic dream in mind — settling with a 60-second shot clock, four quarters and a two-point arc, among other rules. The plan also included the development of the WPLL Futures program, which helped younger girls connect with the league’s players.

DeJuliis, the former UWLX Commissioner, kept her expectations high for the first season of the new league, and she’s satisfied with the product she has seen.

“We set the bar high and we really tried to build, step-by-step, day-by-day, chipping away and doing the little things and create a fan base and excitement around the league," she said. "We’ve done that. … We’ve got thousands of ideas moving forward, but we want to stay true to our mission.”

So far, Messinger, the hero from Saturday’s game and a Navy assistant, is enjoying an opportunity to continue her career.

“It’s really rewarding," she said. "Having people come and want to see the professional game develop. It’s just going to be great for our sport. It’s great for us oldies and it adds a little excitement to our lives."