The 2026 Lexus Championship Series provides us with a mid-week break between games where we can take a beat to break down the action. This is a new addition to the schedule, as the 2025 Championship Series did not provide the athletes – or us fans – with this mid-series breather.
Athletes get the chance to refuel their bodies after a weekend of back-to-back games with fast, physical play, and coaches get a few days to watch film and apply necessary changes in practice. While each team is re-evaluating its game plan heading into the last round-robin games, we get a chance to take a deeper look at what’s been working for each team and what might need adjusting heading into championship weekend.
California Palms: Foot on the gas pedal
The Palms are off to a red-hot start. As the only 2-0 team in the league at the moment, the women in pink jerseys have never looked more in sync. In multiple interviews, many of the Palms players have mentioned the closeness and family feel that this particular team has fostered, which is showing in their play on the field.
Captains Ally Mastroianni and Sam Geiersbach have experience in the speedy and exciting Championship Series setting. It seems this leading duo has quickly made the newcomers feel comfortable, empowering players like Jill Smith, Ellie Masera and Anna Brandt to do what they do best and make immediate impacts this past weekend.
If the Palms are to continue their winning streak, they will need to keep their foot on the gas pedal. Their transition game is what makes them so difficult to catch up to once they are a few goals ahead. They not only have the speed of some of the top midfielders in the game, but they also have Taylor Moreno and her defensive unit throwing quick outlet passes to spark fast breaks left and right.
The Palms have also done a great job so far of taking care of the ball. In their game against the Charm on Sunday, they had zero turnovers with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, compared to Maryland’s 11. The mark of championship teams is how well they dominate the pace of the game in all areas of the field. So far, the Palms have done exactly that, and they will have the motivation to continue their dominance into championship weekend.
Maryland Charm: Controlling the tempo
The Charm look like a brand new version of themselves this year, and it’s truly fun to watch.
Goalie Caylee Waters has been solid in her crease and keeps her team inspired in every huddle with her upbeat, vocal leadership style. Newcomers Ally Kennedy and Ashley Humphrey have made immediate splashes, providing additional offensive threats to take a lot of the pressure off of last year’s Charm star, Sydni Black. Kennedy has proven why she was my biggest pickup of the offseason, delivering with two massive games and putting herself in the running for the Golden Stick Award with nine scoring points (second-most behind Charlotte North’s 10).
When comparing the Charm to the Palms, Maryland lost that game on Sunday due to turnovers. The final turnover count was 20 compared to the Palms’ 8. The Charm’s defensive strategy is strong; they have plenty of 1-v-1 defensive power to make big stops. Their offense is getting production from multiple players in different spots on the field. When they utilize the combination of Humphrey’s vision behind the cage, Black’s shiftiness on the dodge and Kennedy’s dominance in transition, they can be unstoppable.
All in all, the big difference-maker for the Charm will be how they can control possessions in the shot clock and take a few more seconds to finish their shots. Their success this weekend will be about continuing to find that balance of power on offense and minimizing turnovers across the board.
New York Charging: Turning defense into offense
The Charging came out strong in their first game of the 2026 Championship Series, taking down the Boston Guard team that beat them for the trophy in 2025. But that one-goal statement win seemed to have taken a lot of energy out of them. With a very fast turnaround before its next game against the Charm the following day, New York’s fatigue showed in its 18-12 loss to Maryland.
When we look at the stats in their game against the Guard, the Charging won the possession game, dominated more ground-ball battles and caused more turnovers. In their loss to the Charm, the Charging threw the ball away more and possessed the ball less overall.
So far, Madison Doucette has been lights-out with a total of 27 saves in two games. In a mic’d-up segment on the game broadcast, we got an inside look at Izzy Scane mentioning that the offense needed to help their defense out by putting the ball in the back of the net when the defense makes big plays to get them the ball.
Moving forward into this weekend, Scane is right. The Charging should look to utilize their goal-scorers across the board to help put up points. Getting players like Erin Coykendall, Meg Carney and Chase Boyle more involved would create more openings for Scane and Emily Hawryschuk to do what they do best, ultimately making their offense really difficult to adjust to for opposing defenses.
Boston Guard: Sharing the wealth
The Guard have not looked like themselves so far this Championship Series, but that doesn’t mean we can count them out quite yet. With North and Rachel Hall leading the way, this team is likely already devising new game plans and finding ways to grow before they come out against the Charm on Friday.
North has taken on the brunt of the offensive execution so far, and it’s shown in the way opposing defenses prepare for her. She is seeing early slides and drawing double teams in every matchup, so the Guard will likely use this mid-week break to expand their options on offense.
If they can use their dodgers like Dempsey Arsenault, Madison Ahern and Cassidy Weeks to facilitate the offensive sets, defenses will have to honor them with their speed and finishing ability. This adjustment would shift ball-handling attention from North and allow her to open up more for two-point shots on the backside and clearer dodging lanes when she does get the ball in her stick.
The Guard also need to generate more stops. Goalies Hall and Brittany Read have both been solid, with Hall posting an impressive 18-save game against the Guard. But Boston’s caused-turnover stats in general have been low, with only three against the Charging and five against the Palms. If they can find more opportunities throughout the upcoming games to force turnovers with extra pressure on defense and in the middle of the field, they can gain more possessions for their offense to work with. That defense-first approach could prove to be a turning point for a Guard team that must win Friday to avoid elimination.
Coaches are adjusting, athletes are recovering, and we are preparing for another jam-packed weekend of competitive WLL games and highlight-reel plays. The 2026 Championship Series trophy is up for grabs, and it’s going to be fun to see which team uses this mid-week break to their advantage to spark a championship run.
