PERRYSBURG — One night after the Perrysburg boys lacrosse team clinched their third straight Northern Lakes League championship, the girls team followed suit with a championship of their own.
The Perrysburg girls clinched their sixth straight title, dating back seven years (excluding Covid year 2020) by defeating Anthony Wayne, 15-5, at Steinecker Stadium, Wednesday.
It was the same venue where the boys claimed their championship — and the boys team was in the stands making sure their voices were heard supporting the girls team.
It’s comforting to first-year coach Autumn Stevens that she could keep the dynasty intact.
“The seniors have had how many different coaches since their freshman year?” Stevens said.
“So, coming in with a new coach, and especially with the boys having a new coach (Baily Weatherwax), and getting back-to-back NLL championships right here (Steinecker), it’s a heck of a story.”
Perrysburg improves to 11-2 overall and finishes league play unbeaten at 6-0, but this 10-goal victory over AW (7-5, 3-2) was totally different than the Yellow Jackets’ 10-9 victory in overtime on the Generals’ pitch.
“It was a tough game earlier in the season against AW,” Stevens said. “I personally watched film three times, the girls watched it at least once or twice to say, ‘What happened?’
“We can’t believe that was the same team that we were before. This is a completely different team. We finally found our match.”
This time the Yellow Jackets dominated from start to finish, taking an 8-1 lead at halftime. Senior attack Megan Gibbs already had her hat trick secured just seven-and-a-half minutes into the game.
“We definitely came out a lot stronger,” Gibbs said. “We came out faster, more intense, ready to put all of our effort in.
“We wanted this title. We wanted the six-peat. Each and every single one of us played like we wanted it and we all played like a team finally.”
The Generals tried to clamp down Gibbs, and she finished with just four goals, but others stepped up.
Junior attack Sara Yager led Perrysburg with five goals, senior attack Taytum Lincoln matched Gibbs with four and senior defenseman Abby Robertson and freshman midfielder Ava Schultz scored one goal apiece.
“The depth is insane,” Gibbs said. “Every single girl on this field is supposed to be on this field. They have a place. Every single person can do whatever they want to on this field.
“Everybody can score, everybody can cause turnovers, (junior goalie) Shaye (Ledyard), (junior goalie) Autumn (Brosnan), and (senior attack Lauren) Gorcz are great.
“If I can get it started quick and everybody else keeps going and doing their thing, it’s great,” Gibbs continued.
Gibbs grew up hearing about lacrosse because her father Michael grew up in Elmira, New York, and on the east coast a Friday night lacrosse game can feel like a Friday night football game in Northwest Ohio.
“I’m not going to lie, he was a big hockey person, but he knew lacrosse,” Megan said. “Everybody around him grew up playing lacrosse.
“So, when the program started here, he was like, ‘Hey, do you want to try this?’ I was originally going to play softball, but that was too much standing, so I got into lacrosse, and I loved it ever since.”
While Perrysburg will have its work cut out when facing regional competition in the tournament from other parts of the state, Megan believes Northwest Ohio lacrosse is gaining momentum.
“It’s definitely grown so much, especially from when I first started playing,” Megan said. “I remember when we were in PLC (Perrysburg Lacrosse Club) as little fourth graders and we went to a tournament up in Cleveland the first time we got absolutely obliterated.
“But, to see how it’s grown from now to seeing the younger girls going down to tournaments, to see us go to Cleveland and up into Michigan and do well, it has grown so much.”
This year’s Perrysburg team has 11 seniors, but five are already on their way to playing at the next level.
Gibbs is heading to Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan, defenseman Meagan Hilleary will play at Tiffin University, attack Kiana Allan will play at Baldwin-Wallace University in suburban Cleveland, attack Sydney Roof is heading to Gordon College (Massachusetts), and Gorcz is heading to John Carroll University, also suburban Cleveland.
“This group of girls is special,” Stevens said. “They are relentless, everything we talk to them about, they take, and we feed off it and they run with it.
“These seniors, we have a big group, but they all put their heart into it and they left it all out in the field, especially in a game like today.”
