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NEWARK, Del. - - Leah Rycroft broke a 9-9 tie with 13:27 left in the fourth quarter and the third-seeded Wilmington University women's lacrosse team captured the 2026 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship, defeating top-seeded Dominican, 13-9, on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
With the win, the Wildcats (18-2) earn the conference's automatic qualification into the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament, which they will learn their location and opponent on Sunday night with the Selection Show at 8:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
The loss snapped a 37-game winning streak against conference opponents for Dominican, not having lost a conference game since 2023. They were the three-time defending CACC Tournament Champions and 2026 CACC Regular Season Champs at 9-0.
Saturday started with the Wildcats scoring back-to-back goals from Kirra Crowley and Tristan Holdsworth to take a 3-1 lead. Dominican scored with 2:15 to play in the first, as Wilmington went into the second with a 3-2 lead.
Tristan Holdsworth and Kirra Crowley scored back-to-back man-advantage goals in the second quarter, with Crowley burying a free position shot for the 6-3 lead. The teams traded goals the rest of the second quarter, with Dominican scoring with 18 seconds to send the Wildcats into the break with a 7-5 lead.
Dominican came out of the break on a mission, as Madison Mileti scored back-to-back goals to tie the game, 7-7. The game remained tied for eight minutes until Kirra Crowley and Leah Rycroft scored back-to-back goals to take a 9-7 lead with 2:42 to play. Mileti notched another goal with 1:13 left, making it a one-goal lead after the third.
The Chargers tied the game just 29 seconds in the fourth quarter but Ella Royer won the ensuing draw and Leah Rycroft scored what turned into the winning goal just a minute later. Allison Schiavone came up with a save and Kirra Crowley scored at the other end to make it an 11-9 lead with 11:02 to play. Schiavone had another save with 6:18 to play and then Rycroft fed Anastasia Giannoulis in front for a goal with 3:34 left for the 12-9 lead. Leah Rycroft caused a turnover and the Wildcats went the other way. Ella Royer scored her 90th goal of the season with 1:47 left, giving the Wildcats breathing room, 13-9.
After a wide shot for the Wildcats, the Chargers failed to clear the ball as Kyla Stasium scooped up the ground ball and was able to run out the clock as the team began to celebrate.
Kirra Crowley led the Wildcats with four goals and an assist, adding four draws and two caused turnovers. Lea Rycroft scored three goals with two assists and two draws while Anastasia Gianoulis scored two goals with three assists. Ella Royer had two goals and an assist with eight draws while Tristan Holdsworth scored two goals and had an assist.
Allison Schiavone played three quarters for the Wildcats, making seven saves.
2026 CACC All-Tournament Team:
Iris Gluck, Jefferson
Caitlin Petrellese, Georgian Court
Madison Mileti, Dominican
Leila Paz, Dominican
Jenna Rigo, Dominican
Kirra Crowley, Wilmington
Anastasia Giannoulis, Wilmington
Ella Royer, Wilmington
Leah Rycroft, Wilmington
Allison Schiavone, Wilmington
Caitlyn Welker, Wilmington
MVP: Leah Rycroft, Wilmington
