New York Charging 16, California Palms 14

Palms: Taylor Moreno Rewrites History, but Palms Can’t Get Past Turnovers

The story of the night was Taylor Moreno. She created Maybelline Women’s Lacrosse League history by becoming the first goalie to score a goal. Her late second half effort started to give California life heading into halftime after a slow start.

Moreno has been key for the Palms’ offense as she has five assists and one goal through two matches. Whenever the ball is in her stick, great things are bound to happen. Her transition clears and effort has caused many problems for teams in the league.

“I'm not gonna lie, in the first half I totally blocked out,” Moreno said. “I think just in the moment, I vividly remember just, you know, trying to come out and pick a pass and come open up the door for a bad shot low angle.”

Despite Moreno's history, California struggled to generate open looks and at times rushed its offense by playing into pressure. The Palms had 20 turnovers, which is just five more than they had in their first matchup.

Things began to settle for them, but it was a case of too little too late. Sam Geiersbach led the team in scoring with five goals. Ally Mastroianni had a quieter game, yet she still dictated play. She had the second most touches on her team.

“I think we thought we could take a couple risks, you know, and steal a couple of shots here,” head coach Adam Sear said. 

Transition is where the Palms like to take risks, and the Charging did well to stop Moreno from lobbing the ball to on-rushing subs. California has one more match against Maryland to clean up some sloppiness from tonight.

Charging: Defense, Physicality and the Two Man Game

After tonight’s matchup, the Charging remain the only undefeated team in the league, largely due to their defensive masterclass. New York stifled a majority of California’s offensive sets by forcing 14 turnovers, despite rostering only one natural defender. 

New York’s communication and backing on defense made it seem like space was open for California to work with. Every player put their head down to ensure Madison Doucette faced as few shots as possible, including forward Izzy Scane who had three caused turnovers.

The Charging played a physical game, which was evident through Lauren Gilbert's three minute suspension in the second half. The team held firm and maintained momentum throughout the match. 

“Everyone's a defender now,” head coach Colleen Magarity said. “Really the main one is Kendall Halpern, so making sure that she matches up with the top dodger on their team and she did a phenomenal job tonight.”

A big part of that momentum came from goalkeeper Madison Doucette. Her energy was eerily similar to Caylee Waters of the Maryland Charm last night. Countless times the game seemed to sway into the Palms’ favor, Doucette’s denials uplifted her teammates to score.

On the offensive side, the Charging offense flowed through forward Emily Hawryschuk tonight. Hawryschuk’s five goals now leaves her in sole position to capture the first-ever Golden Stick Award. She also led the team in touches with 38.

Most of the goals scored came from an overload on one side of the field that resulted in players playing a two-man game. New York stacked two players near the top side of the arc which left space for the ball carrier to exploit.

“It was a gritty game, we really had to dig it out there in the fourth quarter,” Meg Carney said. “Overall, it's just a great team effort.”

With their win, the Charging secured a spot in the elimination round.