On Saturday, May 9th, the Missoula Elite Lacrosse Women’s team traveled to Spokane, Washington, to play their first games in program history. The ladies from Montana took the field against Three Rivers in their first game and battled the hosting Gonzaga Prep Bullpups in their second game of the day. Much of the game against Three Rivers was spent explaining rules to the players, most of whom are brand new to the sport, and the girls took time to try and understand things like spacing and transition offense.

Midfielders Carleigh LeBlanc (JR, Hellgate) and Hannah Karlsson (SR, Hellgate) got the ball moving up the field and paced the team with a combined 11 groundballs during the game. Offensively, the MEL Women were led by Center Jill Lindbergh (JR, Hellgate) who finished the game with 2 goals, and Attacker Kate Liddle Broberg (SR, Hellgate) who ran the game at “X” and finished with 1 assist in the contest. Midfielder Makenna Reisner (SO, Hellgate) also tallied a goal in the game and Goaltender Sara Hanson (JR, Hellgate) had a solid game and finished with 7 saves. In the end, the final score read 9-4 in favor of Three Rivers, but there were many positive things for the Women from Missoula to take away from the game.

In their second game of the day, the MEL Women were ready to show off their hard work and came out fired to get their first win. Center Jill Lindbergh took control of the game from the start, winning every draw in the first half and going 3 for 3 shooting in the half. Lindbergh’s hustle was matched by many of the other MEL girls, including Midfielder Anna Pickard (JR, Hellgate) who finished with 4 groundballs and 3 goals in the game, and Midfielder Hannah Karlsson who finished with 6 groundballs and 2 goals. The team’s youngest players, Midfielders Kelsay Adcock (8th, Target Range) and Julia Michels (8th, Target Range) each had solid performances with Adcock displaying great speed in her transition game and Michels netting her first goal. Defender Hannah Leonard (JR, Hellgate) wouldn’t let the Bullpups really ever get settled on offense and Goaltender Sara Hanson had a huge second half, where she registered 7 saves on many point-blank shots. The fired up first half combined with some really solid goaltending in the second half would prove to be enough for the Women from Missoula, who earned their first win ever over the hosting Bullpups by the final score of 11-3.

Missoula Elite Lacrosse would like to thank the Gonzaga Prep Lacrosse program for hosting Saturday’s event and for the girls from Three Rivers and Sandpoint for making the trip to Spokane. Also, a huge thanks to all the parents who made the trip to Washington to support the girls and congratulations to Coach Fahy and Coach Bona for their first win!