Emily Hawryschuk, Izzy Scane lead Charging past Guard to open Championship Series: Takeaways

One, two, rip.

That’s how casual Charlotte North made the first two-point goal in WLL history look. Down three with 3:43 left to play Friday night, North took two steps toward the arc and let it fly, slamming the top right corner to give the Boston Guard some life against the New York Charging in the 2026 Lexus Championship Series opener.

North also opened the game’s scoring with an on-the-run bouncer between the legs of Madison Doucette. And Izzy Scane answered.

The team captains and league stars showed out in a tit-for-tat showdown, which the Charging won 11-10 in a rematch of 2025’s title game.

All sides of Sixes were showcased in the opening match of this Championship Series. It was an offensively slow first quarter that saw 2025’s Golden Stick Award winner Emily Hawryschuk locked down by the Guard. The second quarter had an archetypal spurt of scoring, with four goals in about a minute en route to New York’s 6-5 halftime lead.

Momentum dipped for Boston in the third quarter, culminating in its 10th straight missed shot before Cassidy Weeks stopped the bleeding. Guard goalie Rachel Hall kept her team in the game during their dip, and then North hit her historic two-pointer in the fourth quarter to nearly erase any lost momentum and bring the game within a score.

North was denied by Doucette on Boston’s final chance, and New York ran the clock out to claim its first win of the tournament.

“We know they have a lot of powerful shooters and we know Charlotte had a pretty hot hand for it tonight,” Doucette said of North’s final shot. “We had an idea they’d probably shoot that outside shot, we also thought they might use that as a diversion. … My defense, credit to them, gave me exactly what I wanted.”

Doucette had 15 saves (62.5%) on the night.

Scane finished with five points (3G, 2A) and Hawryschuk had six (4G, 2A). For the Guard, North totaled six points (3G, 1 2G, 1A) and Madison Ahern (2G) and Dempsey Arsenault (1G, 1A) each had two points.

Here are the top takeaways from Friday’s game:

Stars announce themselves

Not that they needed any sort of introduction.

North and Scane went blow-for-blow, scoring three of the game’s first four goals. Hawryschuk, after a slow first quarter, reminded everyone how she was last tournament’s leading scorer.

“I think we had a really good defensive game plan,” Guard head coach Laurie DeLuca said. “I think we executed it well, for the most part. Limiting that offensive power to 11 goals is pretty unbelievable. In terms of the two-point arc, we knew Hawryschuk was the threat there. I think we did a really good job, specifically Hannah Dorney, being on her. … I will say, Emily had an unbelievable game. She used her body well; she got in.”

There are still three games to play this weekend, but this one was a veteran’s match.

Hall stands tall

The Guard goalie bailed her team out of what could’ve been a much bigger defeat. Hall read shots well and used her mobility to meet the ball wherever it landed. Her 18 saves were the second-most by a WLL goalie in a Championship Series game. Doucette holds the record with 21 saves against the California Palms last year.

“We definitely had a couple lapses offensively, for sure. Offense can take accountability, but I don’t think our defense could’ve played any better. Rachel Hall stood on her head,” Andie Aldave said.

“Rachel crushed it tonight, and we need to have her back. We need to capitalize on the defensive stops. We let the exciting energy that our defense had tonight in stops and shutdowns and matchups, we lost it when it crossed over.”

Power plays need patience

In most power plays, both teams opted for quick and longer-ranged shots, and both teams saw minimal — or no — success. The Charging went 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Guard went 2-for-5.

On one power play for the Charging, Meg Carney opted for an unsuccessful two-pointer. On another, the Charging took a shot within 10 seconds and saw the Guard reclaim possession and burn the remainder of the shot clock on the other end of the field.

While the Guard were man-up, Aldave ripped one from the top of the arc only eight seconds into the play; the Charging killed off the remaining 22 seconds. Boston’s other power plays ended with 20 seconds and 17 seconds left on the shot clock.

Both teams have to work the ball around more and maintain longer possession while searching for a higher-quality shot. The two-pointers should only be taken if a player is wide open, or if the gimme inside look isn’t there and time’s dwindling.

“When you have man-up, you’re looking to stretch the defense and hit the backside. We had opportunities, we just didn’t capitalize on all of our opportunities,” DeLuca said. “There were times I think we rushed the shot clock a little bit. I think we can work the ball a little bit more.”

The iPad madness is back

Honorable mention goes to technology, because, if you remember last year, the iPads stole the show.

In 2025, while Charging backup goalie Molly LaLiberty watched her iPad to see which calls to flag to her coaches to challenge, viewers watched LaLiberty. Her body language was at times telling and exciting, and had fans knowing when a challenge was coming before a flag was even thrown.

LaLiberty is back at it this year, likely to push coach Charlie Leonard on some calls. In this opener, Leonard challenged a shot-clock violation on North’s final goal of the first half. The goal was upheld, and Leonard said postgame that LaLiberty said his challenge “wasn’t really a good one,” but Leonard also wanted to call a timeout, so he burned the challenge instead.

“Molly [was] talking to me and always using her voice,” Leonard said. “On the bench, she keeps everyone together. She has a calming spirit to her. She’s vocal. She celebrates successes.”

DeLuca threw the first challenge flag of the game, looking for the reversal of a non-goal call with five seconds left in the first quarter. DeLuca’s challenge was also unsuccessful.

The 2026 Championship Series continues Saturday, starting at noon ET with a matchup between the Guard and Palms. The Charging and Maryland Charm follow at 2 p.m. ET.