New teams continue to emerge in MaxPreps Xcellent 20 National Girls Lacrosse Rankings

With the surge of popularity in girls lacrosse, programs on the rise are popping up from sea to shining sea.

In California, Carondelet won its first CIF North Coast Section title by beating Foothill, 15-9, in the Division I championship game.

The win, the Cougars' 18th straight, was keyed by a quick start as the Cougars scored the first six goals of the game and led 9-3 at halftime. Their finish allowed them to crack the MaxPreps Xcellent 20 National Girls Lacrosse Rankings for the first time. Cali Castagnola and Kerianne Hunt each scored four goals in the final.

Behind Devon Frazer's three goals and three assists, Acalanes beat Marin Catholic-Kentfield, 12-10, to take the California NCS Division II championship



The growth of lacrosse in Georgia, meanwhile, has coincided with the emergence of one of the nation’s premier girls dynasties. And for Tim Godby, the timing couldn’t have been any more perfect.

Godby is the head coach at Milton, which won its sixth state title in the last seven years by beating Roswell (Ga.) 25-6 in the GHSA AAAAA final earlier this month.

"Lacrosse has exploded in the Atlanta metro area the past five years," Godby told MaxPreps. "We have gone from having no middle school feeder program in 2005 to having three middle school teams as well as two U-11 and two U-9 teams just from the Milton feeder schools."

The results of that have been prevalent at the varsity level. The win over Roswell wrapped up a 19-1-1 season in which the only blemishes were a loss at unbeaten Florida state champ Vero Beach and a tie against Summit (N.J.).

Annie Ruland keyed the title-game win by scoring six goals. Ruland finished the season as the team's leading scorer with 75 goals, 61 assists and 136 points. Lydia Cassada was the team's leading goal scorer with 92.

Vanderbilt University-bound Amanda Lockwood, a junior, was named team MVP with 198 draws won and 81 draw controls, while also leading the squad in ground balls and forced turnovers.

"We had several experienced players returning from the 2010 team and only lost four players," Godby said. "The experience we had, along with a high-profile player such like Amanda Lockwood, and several other young up-and-coming players, allowed us to have a great season."

MAXPREPS XCELLENT 20 NATIONAL GIRLS LACROSSE RANKINGS



1. Garden City (N.Y.), 17-0: The top-seeded Trojans are set to face rival Manhasset in this week's Nassau County Class B championship game, with the winner advancing to the Long Island title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 1)

2. McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), 19-0: Taylor Cummings scored five goals, helping the Eagles prevail over Roland Country School (Md.), 18-17, in the IAA A Conference title game for its 51st straight win. (Last week's ranking: No. 2)

3. Farmingdale (N.Y.), 16-1: Seeded No. 1 in Class A, the Dalers, who beat No. 4 Baldwin by 18-4 in the Nassau County semifinals, will face No. 2 Massapequa in this week's finals. (Last week's ranking: No. 3)

4. Vero Beach (Fla.), 22-0: The Fighting Indians wrapped up a 22-0 campaign by beating Winter Springs, 20-3, in the FHSAA championship game to extend their winning streak to 60 games. (Last week's ranking: No. 4)

5. West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.), 17-0: Emily Tripodi had two goals and nine assists in the Wildcats' 18-10 win over Fayetteville-Manlius in the Section 3 Class A semifinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 5)

6. St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 16-2: The top-seeded Friars won their fourth straight CHSAA championship by rolling to a 20-5 win over No. 2 Sacred Heart (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: No. 6)



7. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (Alexandria, Va.), 31-2: Katie Wiseman made 13 saves in the previously mentioned victory over Georgetown Visitation (D.C.) in the VISAA title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 7)

8. Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), 19-2: Kelly Lechner finished with 98 goals for the Falcons, who won their eighth straight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title, and extended their conference win streak to 80 games. (Last week's ranking: No. 8)

9. Ridgewood (N.J.), 20-1: Sixteen players scored goals for Ridgewood in an 18-5 win over Kinnelon (N.J.). (Last week's ranking: No. 9)

10. Northport (N.Y.), 16-2: The top-seeded Tigers take on No. 2 Bay Shore later this week in the Suffolk County Class A championship game. (Last week's ranking: No. 10)

11. Westwood (Mass.), 19-0-1: The Wildcats are unbeaten in 56 of their last 57, with the lone loss a 12-8 setback to Framingham (Mass.) in last year's state title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 11)

12. Alta (Sandy, Utah), 20-0: The Hawks defended their state championship and extended their win streak to 48 games by beating Bingham 12-6 in the title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 12)



13. Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.), 19-2: The top-seeded Ramblers beat New Trier (Ill.) 16-14 in the Evanston section final. (Last week's ranking: No. 13)

14. Milton (Ga.), 19-1-1: Lydia Cassada scored three goals in the first three minutes of the previously mentioned state title victory over Roswell (Ga.). (Last week's ranking: No. 14)

15. Hauppauge (N.Y.), 18-0: The Eagles face No. 6 Shoreham-Wading River later this week in the Suffolk Class B title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 16)

16. Manhasset (N.Y.), 14-3: Kerri Fleishhacker had four goals and had one assist in a 11-7 win against Wantagh in the Nassau County Class B semifinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 17)

17. Moorestown (N.J.), 21-2: Stephanie Toy had three goals in an 8-5 triumph over Shawnee (N.J.). (Last week's ranking: No. 19)

18. Wilton (Conn.), 15-1: Casey Pearsall had four goals and two assists as the Warriors defended their Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference title by beating Darien, 15-12, in the title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 20)

19. Londonderry (N.H.), 17-1: The Lancers' 51-game win streak ended with a 12-9 loss to Andover (Mass.), their first setback since falling to Framingham (Mass.) in the third game of the 2009 season. (Last week's ranking: No. 15)



20. Carondelet (Concord, Calif.), 21-2: Cali Castagnola and Kerianne Hunt each had four goals in the previously mentioned win over Foothill (Calif.) in the NCS Division I championship game. (Last week's ranking: Not ranked)

Dropped out: Fox Lane (N.Y.), No. 18.

Joe Lombardi writes the "Lax with Joe" blog at LaxLessons.com and is an analyst for the MSG Varsity Television Network. He is also the primary author of the new edition of "Lacrosse for Dummies," which was released last year. He may be reached at joe@laxlessons.com and followed on Twitter @joe_lombardi.