Lacrosse wins district but will forgo nationals
Published May 5, 2006
At first, Central Plains Women's Lacrosse League Championships on Saturday looked familiar to many who had seen Lindenwood University defeat MU's club team in the 2005 championships.
With less than four minutes remaining in the game, the Tigers were down 6-7 — the final score of last year's loss. But instead of repeating history, the team managed to tie the score.
Then, with one minute and three seconds left in the game, freshman Rebecca Kinsella scored the winning shot.
"It was exciting," Kinsella said. "We still had some time left in the game. But it wasn't any time to celebrate. We knew that we couldn't just stop playing. Lindenwood is a really good team."
The game-winning point stunned sophomore captain Lauren Wooldridge, who could not believe that her team was just a minute away from reaching the national tournament.
"After she scored that goal, I just couldn't believe it. I just stopped on the field for a second," Wooldridge said.
The girls' victory won the team a chance to go to nationals in Dallas.
But nationals take place during MU's finals week, which causes a conflict for the team.
The four captains — Emily Klos, Maggy Carlyle, Rachel Zigler and Wooldridge — discussed the dilemma.
"We decided there wasn't enough time," Wooldridge said. "Everyone would have to be done with finals by Tuesday. We would have to raise so much money so fast. But the main reason is because school does come first. There wasn't enough time for finals; schoolwork is more important."
The team feels the bitter sting of realizing its dreams of reaching the national tournament, but being unable to continue its season because of circumstances beyond its control.
"It's disappointing that we can't go down to Dallas and represent Missouri," Wooldridge said.
Kinsella, however, expected the team to be in this situation from the beginning when she received the original schedule.
"It's hard to get 20 girls' finals schedules to change," Kinsella said. "But we still have the fact that we beat Lindenwood, and we are the champions of our district."
Klos said the future is still bright for next year's team, with chances to compete in the 2007 national tournament.
"We have a good core team," Klos said. "We're looking to add on to the team. Next year, we'll have higher expectations and plans for nationals."