KINGS POINT, N.Y. (May 3, 2025) – Merchant Marine faced a three-goal deficit in the second quarter, but stormed back to secure the 2025 Skyline Women's Lacrosse Championship with a 12-10 victory over the Farmingdale State Rams on Saturday afternoon at Brooks Stadium. USMMA captured their fifth Skyline Championship in program history (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025), improving to 13-2, while the Rams ended their campaign at 9-9.
Game Links
Senior Lauren Jablonowski (Levittown, N.Y.) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Skyline Championship Tournament after she finished with a hat trick and two assists, leading the Mariners with five points. Jablonowski compiled eight goals and six assists between the semi-final and championship games.
Sophomore
Leslie Wysong (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) had three goals, while senior
Gianna Russo (Wake Forest, N.C.), sophomore
Grace Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa.), and freshman
Reese Ripley (Denver, Colo.) all had two goals. Ripley led the team with five draw controls.
Defensively, Ripley, Picozzi, Jablonowski, and freshman Lana Hayes (Toms River, NJ) all scooped up three ground balls.
In net, sophomore Karianna Eagle (Little Egg Harbor Township, NJ) made 11 critical saves with a .524 save percentage.
The first quarter was predictably close, with the two preeminent programs in the conference battling hard. Farmingdale grabbed an early 1-0 lead 30 seconds into the afternoon, but Ripley brought the Mariners level with a goal at 11:30. Russo snapped the deadlock with her first goal of the day a few minutes later, but the Rams tied the game again with five minutes to play in the frame.
Shortly after, Wysong scored to make it 3-2 Kings Point, but the Rams brought it level again about a minute later. Farmingdale State then took a 4-3 advantage, but USMMA was able to equalize before the buzzer, finishing the first quarter tied at 4-4.
At the beginning of the second quarter, FSC established some momentum. They opened the period with a three-goal run to make it 7-4 Rams, which was the biggest lead for either side up to that point. Wysong was finally able to snap that stretch thanks to a woman-up marker with eight minutes left in the quarter, but Farmingdale answered right back with another tally to extend their lead to 8-5. Jablonowski found the back of the net for her first goal of the day with seven minutes to go in the half, then later, Lauren assisted on Picozzi's goal to help KP go into halftime down just one goal, 8-7.
90 seconds into the third quarter, Wysong tied the game at eight with a free position goal, with the Mariners finally battling back from a three-goal deficit. A minute later, Jablonowski buried another free position attempt to put Merchant Marine on top 9-8.
Farmingdale was able to tie things up again at 9-9 with 9:42 left in the third quarter before both sides tightened up defensively and did not allow a goal for the rest of the quarter.
It all built to a dramatic finish, with the conference's top two seeds deadlocked at 9-9. That score held for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter before Ripley and Picozzi scored 30 seconds apart to give KP an 11-9 edge.
Farmingdale buried a goal with 7:38 left to get back within a goal, but Lauren Jablonowski's third goal of the game came shortly after, as USMMA extended the advantage to 12-10.
From there, it was the Mariners' defense that shone brightest. They stonewalled all Farmingdale advances over the final seven minutes to secure a 12-10 victory and raise the 2025 Skyline Championship trophy.
This Monday, the Mariners will find out where they are headed and who they will face in the opening rounds of the NCAA Championship, which is slated to begin next Saturday, May 10. The NCAA Selection Show is set for 10:30 a.m. (ET) on Monday, May 5, on the NCAA website.
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