Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) hosted its championship games for the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Lacrosse Championships last Thursday and Friday at Upper St. Clair High School. Both classifications had familiar champions, as Mt. Lebanon repeated as the Class 3A winner, and Mars won its third consecutive title at Class 2A.
Mt. Lebanon added to its record haul of WPIAL girls’ lacrosse championships with its seventh, which is two more than second-place Peters Township. The Blue Devils have won in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2016, 2024, and now 2025.
Mars is now a four-time WPIAL girls’ lacrosse champion, which moves it into third place all-time among WPIAL schools. The Fightin’ Planets were previously champions in 2021, 2023, and 2024.
With the results of the WPIAL Boys’ Lacrosse Championships, this marks the second straight year that the same two schools won both the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse titles. This also marks the seventh time in which the WPIAL boys’ lacrosse champion also won gold in girls’ lacrosse, with the previous instances coming in 2021 (Mars), 2022 (Shady Side Academy), 2023 (Mars), and 2024 (Mars, Mt. Lebanon).
The top three teams in both Class 2A and Class 3A have qualified for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Girls’ Lacrosse Championships, which begin Tuesday, June 3 and conclude with all championship games on Saturday, June 14 at Panzer Stadium on the campus of Penn State University.
CLASS 3A RECAP
Down 12-7 with 4:01 remaining in the third quarter of the Class 3A championship game, third-seeded Mt. Lebanon scored eight of the final 10 goals – including four unanswered in the final stanza – to defeat top-seeded Pine-Richland, 15-14, in the second game of three played last Thursday. The title tilt marked the third time that the Blue Devils and Rams met to decide the WPIAL crown, and the dramatics were provided by sophomore attack Grace Manning, who scored the winning unassisted goal with 4:15 to go.
Mt. Lebanon (15-3-0, 9-1-0 Section I) owned advantages in groundballs (15-11), saves (8-4), and turnovers (12-14), and went 3-for-5 on free-position shots and scored a pair of player-up goals. Pine-Richland (18-3-0, 8-0-0 Section II) had 27 shots to the Blue Devils’ 23, and had a 22-to-12 advantage in draw controls.
Manning led Mt. Lebanon offensively with five goals and an assist, and was joined in the hat trick club by sophomore attack Ann Tinnemeyer and junior midfielder Quinn Murdoch, who each scored three goals. Sophomore midfielder Cali Green provided two goals and two helpers. Junior midfielder Lucy Pryor snagged six draw controls, added three groundballs, and was one of six Blue Devils to record a caused turnover. Junior defender Chloe Shea paced the team with two caused turnovers, and classmate Nina Crago made eight saves and scooped a game-high four groundballs.
The Rams were guided by six-point days from junior attack Cate Gentile (4g, 2a) and senior midfielder Madeline Mill (3g, 3a), and received multiple goals from sophomore attack Mallory Boivin (3g), senior midfielder Kendyll Jerry (2g), and sophomore Claire Mill (2g). Both Claire and Madeline Mill pulled down nine draw controls each, with Madeline adding a game-high three caused turnovers. Senior goalkeeper Claire Dosch stopped four shots and had three groundballs.
Mt. Lebanon topped sixth-seeded Peters Township in the quarterfinals, 17-14, then avenged a regular-season loss to second-seeded Upper St. Clair with a 12-9 semifinal victory. Pine-Richland bested eighth-seeded Shady Side Academy in the quarterfinals, 16-5, and bested fourth-seeded Moon in the semifinals, 16-6.
In the third-place consolation game played last Thursday, Upper St. Clair was a 12-7 winner over Moon for the final PIAA qualifier spot.
Mars will open the PIAA Championships against the District III fourth-place team, while Chartiers Valley gets the District VI or X champion, and Upper St. Clair plays the District III champion. All three teams are seeking their first PIAA title – Mars is making its fifth appearance, Chartiers Valley is making its fourth, and it’s the first appearance for Quaker Valley.
CLASS 2A RECAP
After holding a two-goal lead at halftime, top-seeded Mars exploded for seven second-half goals to come away with the Class 2A championship, as it defeated second-seeded Chartiers Valley, 15-6, in the second game of three played last Friday.
Mars (19-1-0, 10-0-0 Section II) had more than double the shots (32-15) and draw controls (18-7) than Chartiers Valley (15-4-0, 9-1-0 Section II), and owned a 25-to-19 advantage in ground balls. The Colts made 11 saves to the Fightin’ Planets’ six, and committed 20 turnovers to the top seed’s 25.
Mars was led offensively by junior midfielder Tess McGrath, who had seven points (4g, 3a), and had junior midfielder Anna McGrath (4g, 1a) and sophomore midfielder Hailey Long (2g, 3a) post five-point days. Another midfielder, sophomore Lucy Balazs, had three points (2g, 1a) and five draw controls. Long and Tess McGrath recorded seven and six draw controls, respectively, and freshman defender Nicolette Lefcakis led the team with four caused turnovers. Senior goalkeeper Ella Roach made six saves and five groundballs.
Chartiers Valley received a four-goal performance from senior midfielder Megan Witte, and goals from classmates Juliana Betts and Natalia Palumbo. Witte led the team with five draw controls and Palumbo collected a team-high four groundballs and four caused turnovers. Senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Kuczinski made 11 saves.
Mars reached the championship game with a 23-1 win over eighth-seeded Oakland Catholic in the quarterfinals, and a 13-8 triumph versus fourth-seeded Blackhawk in the semifinals. Chartiers Valley defeated sixth-seeded South Fayette in the quarterfinals, 9-3, and seventh-seeded Quaker Valley in the semifinals, 10-8.
In the third-place consolation game played last Thursday at Fox Chapel High School, Quaker Valley topped Blackhawk, 13-9, for the final PIAA qualifier spot.
Mars will open the PIAA Championships against the District III fourth-place team, while Chartiers Valley gets the District VI or X champion, and Quaker Valley plays the District III champion. All three teams are seeking their first PIAA title – Mt. Lebanon is making its 10th appearance, Pine-Richland is making its eighth, and Upper St. Clair is making its fourth.
PIAA PREVIEW
Start Date: Tuesday, June 3
Number of Champions from WPIAL: 0
Appearances & Best Finish:
- Chartiers Valley – 4th (quarterfinals in 2016, 2022, 2024)
- Mars – 5th (quarterfinals in 2021, 2023, 2024)
- Mt. Lebanon – 10th (semifinals in 2014, 2016)
- Pine-Richland – 8th (quarterfinals in 2012, 2023)
-Quaker Valley – 1st
- Upper St. Clair – 4th (first round in 2009, 2019, 2022)
Last Class 3A PIAA Champion from WPIAL: None
Last Class 2A PIAA Champion from WPIAL: None
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