WASHINGTON, PA — Top-seeded Washington & Jefferson College posted an 18-3 victory over No. 3 Thiel College Saturday afternoon in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Women’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament title game. The victory completes a perfect 10-0 run for W&J against PAC competition this spring. W&J was ranked No. 2 in the most recent NCAA Division III Great Lakes regional ranking. Thiel finishes its season with a 7-3 record. As the winner of the PAC Championship Tournament, W&J will receive the conference’s automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. The field for this year’s Division III Championship is scheduled to be announced Monday, May 3 at 10:30 a.m. (EDT). First and second round games are scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, May 8-9.
W&J ripped off the first nine goals of the game and left no doubt in claiming its first PAC title in school history. The Presidents previously claimed conference titles as a member of the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference (ORLC) in 2016 and 2017. W&J sophomore Amanda Effland (Frederick, MD) tallied nine points and freshman Kaitlyn Brown (Charlotte Hall, MD) registered 10 saves in the win. Four different W&J players registered hat tricks in the title game. Effland paced the offense with three goals, six assists and three ground balls. Junior Clara Sherwood (Indiana, PA) finished with three goals and five draw controls. Sophomore Sarah Labovitz (Great Falls, VA) added three scores, five draw controls and three ground balls. Sophomore Becca Ghion (Yough) also chipped in three goals as well. Sophomore Gabby Galla (Erie) led a defensive unit that thwarted the Tomcats efforts offensively, finishing with five caused turnovers and five ground balls in the win. Freshman Sofia Jenkins (Hughesville, MD) totaled four points on two goals and two assists while adding three draw controls, two caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls.