Jesuit again reigns supreme, claims state lacrosse title with 12-9 win over Lake Oswego

During the 2024 Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association (OGLA) state championship game, Lake Oswego students, parents and siblings were clad in all-white.

The Lakers’ fans donned matching T-shirts that read “Ring Tour 2024” across the chest, with a long list of schools down the back.

Still uncrossed at the bottom of the list was Jesuit, marked in red ink and double-circled.

Sadly, for Lake Oswego and their fans, the “Tour” ended a win short of its desired destination after the Crusaders defeated the Lakers 12-9 in the state title game on Thursday night, May 23, at Oregon City High School.

The state championship was the fourth straight for Jesuit going back to 2019, and fifth if you count the “Culmination Week” tournament title resulting from the COVID-shortened season of 2021 (there was no competition in 2020 due to the pandemic). But while their past success is unquestioned, there were questions — at least from outsiders — entering the year as the result of the team losing 13 seniors from last year’s squad.

But while others had doubts, you wouldn’t find those same concerns in the Jesuit locker room prior to, during, and especially now amongst the team and it’s coaching staff.

“On top of the world,” Jesuit head coach Lauren Lakey said following the win. “I’m so excited for the girls. A lot of people doubted them because we lost so many seniors from last year, but they just banded together, rebuilt, trusted each other, and it’s amazing to see them get what they worked so hard for.”

Jesuit’s Quinny Handley scored or assisted on eight of her team’s 12 goals in the win, and Lakey said the junior was and continues to be motivated by naysayers — and you saw that this night.

“A lot of people say she’s overrated and that just empowers her more,” the coach said. “The more people say it, the better she gets. Not only does she work really hard for her teammates, she raises everybody else with her.”

Handley got things going early, firing a pass inside to Kate Gabrielson to give Jesuit a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

From there, Lake Oswego senior Mairin Kelly would find Reilly Mullen to knot the game at one before Handley scored two goals by herself to bring the Crusader lead to 3-1 with 4:55 left in the first quarter.

Then, Millie Prager charged down the middle and found the back of the net for the Lakers, bringing the score to 3-2 prior to the pivotal second period, where Jesuit finally took control.

First, Handley found Gabrielson for another give-and-go goal, then Lucy Maddocks scored back-to-back goals to give the Crusaders a commanding 6-2 lead with six minutes left in the second. From there, Lake Oswego’s Barret Doan would score, assisted by Parker Lemm, but the Lakers had three goals called back for untimely penalties during the second quarter and trailed 7-3 at the halftime break.

To open the third quarter, Lake Oswego wound-up its best punch, outscoring Jesuit 4-1 on goals by Doan, Lemm and Lilia Turley, bringing the score to 8-7 with 5:23 left to play in the period.

But, after scoring Jesuit’s first goal of the quarter to maintain its slight edge, Handley responded with back-to-back scores to close the frame, giving the Crusaders a 10-7 lead with just 12 minutes left to play.

During the final quarter, Kelly found Doan to make it 10-8 with 10:31 remaining, but Handley assisted Hazel Mackey minutes later before Maddocks’ charging goal gave Jesuit a 12-8 lead with 2:52 left on the clock.

The final goal of the game was scored by Lake Oswego’s Lemm, who scored two total goals while Doan led the way with three.

Lakey was especially proud of her team’s defense in the wake of the win, which contained Kelly and benefitted from a possession edge — which in the end is the best means of defense.

“We knew that Mairin Kelly goes hot on us, so we really had to try and shut her down and I definitely want to shout out to Taylor Stalick for locking her down,” Lakey said. “Our defense was communicative, and we were able to defend some switches which was awesome. We talk to them (her team) all the time about how possession is power, so I’m really proud of them for possessing the ball and taking care of what we needed to take care of.”

Lakey added that the Jesuit lacrosse program is not just about the work on the field, but also beyond it. She and her staff pride themselves in building not only winning players, but quality and well-rounded people, which makes this and every win that much more special.

“I think we’re a team that it’s not all about X’s and O’s with lacrosse, it’s about being the best people that we can, getting involved with community service, learning how to build good relationships, and learning how to be our best selves,” she said. “So, it means so much because it proves that you can do both. You can be a better player every year, and an even better person.”

With that in mind, Lakey is going to enjoy this win, but at the same time she’ll begin preparing for next season knowing that while the wins keep coming, so does the competition.

“It’s the best feeling ever, but every year in Oregon the competition just keeps getting better and better,” the coach said. “So, starting tomorrow we go back to the drawing board and start evaluating next year’s talent, and keep trying to put our best foot forward.”