Saturday, December 9, 2023

Warhill Girls Lacrosse Team Brings Home Program’s First-Ever Conference Championship Trophy

(Courtesy of Anders Timberg)

WILLIAMSBURG — The Warhill High School girls lacrosse team made school history by bringing home the program’s first-ever conference championship trophy at the end of this season.

The Lions capped off an undefeated 13-win run with one last hard-fought victory in the conference final against a talented York High School team, leaving Sandford B. Wanner Stadium with a 19 to 12 win and their names etched into school history.

“They [York HS] are another talented up-and-coming program,” said Warhill Coach Anders Timberg in an interview with WYDaily. “It’s pretty exciting on this side of the water to see what the programs really have from a lacrosse perspective.”

(Courtesy of Anders Timberg)

The championship story for Warhill actually began in 2020. The team at the time was able to play one game before the rest of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lions had an opportunity to continue to play in 2021, however, because the season was eventually pushed back and started later in the year.

That year’s Warhill team finished with a regular season record of nine wins and two losses. Both losses were suffered in a similar fashion, by single goals from Kellam High School — a team from Virginia Beach.

Despite a challenging and irregular season, that Warhill team was still able to find its way to the conference finals. The Lions came back from a 10-1 deficit, tying the score up in the second half, 12-12. Despite that strong effort, Warhill couldn’t hold on for the win, losing by one goal, 14-13.

“That’s where the story of this year’s team really started,” said Coach Timberg. “It was in that final disappointment and heartbreaking send-off to the few seniors we had that year. So our girls this season really made a commitment that they were going to get back to that game and that they were going to win it.”

The Warhill girls team just finished its eighth season as a program. This year the team was made up primarily of Juniors, now rising seniors.

(Courtesy of Anders Timberg)

“They were incredibly focused and I think that was one of the biggest traits of this team,” said Coach Timberg. “Selfless, and entirely focused on what they had to accomplish. We were down 4-1 but at no point did anybody panic.”

The roster’s individual accolades included eight all-conference players, one was named all-American, one of the seniors has committed to play at the University of Lynchburg, and two of the juniors are already committed to playing collegiately.

At the end of the game, the three team captains — Meghan DeGrandpre, Emma Timberg, and Alexis Flannigan — grasped the trophy. 

“They were the de facto leaders and captains,” said Coach Timberg. “Just their commitment to lacrosse in Williamsburg, the program itself, and their teammates, it was really incredible.”

The game MVP award was given to Alexis Hillstrom. She set the single-game record for most draw wins in a game during the championship game.

The defensive MVP award was given to Warhill’s starting goalie, Francesca Lazzuri.

The roster:

# Name Class Position  
13 Corson, Sydney Freshman Attack  
1 Degrandpre, Meghan* Senior Attack, Midfield Captain
29 Ewing, Mallory Junior Attack  
16 Flannigan, Alexis* Junior Midfield Captain
23 Good, Julia* Freshman Attack, Midfield  
12 Henderson, Margaret Junior Defense  
3 Hilstrom, Alexis* Junior Midfield  
11 Jackson, Abigail Sophmore Attack, Midfield  
45 Lazzuri, Francesca* Junior Goalie  
5 Massena, Allison Freshman Goalie  
34 Massie, Acadia Freshman Midfield  
43 McCaffery, Maura Junior Attack  
19 Motes, Katie* Junior Defense  
7 O’Neil, Lexi Freshman Defense  
17 Quinn, Samantha Junior Defense  
6 Scalia, Caroline Junior Defense  
10 Schmidt, Elizabeth Senior Defense  
21 Smith, Jordan Freshman Attack, Midfield  
28 Springsteen, Kelsea Freshman Attack  
41 Swanenburg, Carlee Junior Defense  
22 Timberg, Emma* Senior Midfield Captain
24 Timberg, Mia* Junior Attack

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