Stony Brook, Towson Advance to 2026 Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game
Dylan Smith
WEB RELEASE | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
GAME 1 – Box Score | GAME 1 – Photo Gallery | GAME 1 – Postgame Interview
GAME 2 – Box Score | GAME 2 – Photo Gallery | GAME 2 – Postgame Interview
RICHMOND, Va. – Stony Brook and Towson will face off in the 2026 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship game following their respective semifinal wins at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Thursday.
The Seawolves and the Tigers will square off in the title game for the second time in four seasons, previously meeting in 2023. The two teams will battle for the coveted conference crown on Saturday, May 2, at 12:30 p.m. Jonny Wilcott and Jack Barteck will call the action on FloCollege.
Game 1
Top-seeded and 11
th-ranked Stony Brook (16-2) picked up an 18-6 victory over fourth-seeded Elon (7-10) following four-goal outings from Isabella Caporuscio and Olivia Schorr.
The two-time CAA Midfielder of the Year, Caporuscio, also won five draws to go with three caused turnovers and three ground balls. Schorr found twine on four of her eight shot attempts, also notching a ground ball and a draw control. Haydin Eisfeld and Kaitlin Walsh each registered a hat trick, with the latter notching a helper along the way. Braeden Siverson won 10 draw controls on the afternoon to help the Seawolves stay on the offensive prowl.
Caporuscio netted the first goal of the game just 59 seconds in to give Stony Brook a 1-0 edge. Elon’s Ana Lee Vandiver corralled a pass from Mackenzie Coleman and bounced her shot past the keeper to knot the game at one.
Elon’s Caitlin Walsh kept the Phoenix within striking distance in the first half, making four saves in the opening period and five more in the second quarter for nine stops through 30 minutes. She finished with 16 saves in the contest. MJ Santa Barbara was instrumental offensively as the junior attacker notched a hat trick in the second half alone to deadlock the score at five.
The Seawolves’ Schorr helped the regular season champs secure a 7-5 edge at the intermission after sniping the lower corner with 13 seconds remaining in the half for the two-goal edge.
The scoring success continued quickly in the second half as it took Stony Brook’s Julie Fusco 33 seconds to open the scoring off a feed from Gabby Palomba to go up three. After Santa Barbara scored her fourth goal of the game for the Phoenix, the Seawolves took over and rattled off 10 straight goals, including eight in the final frame, to seal the victory.
The Phoenix’s Santa Barbara broke the CAA’s all-time career draw controls record by winning six draws on Thursday. She has accrued 352 draw controls in just three seasons, surpassing Drexel’s Karson Harris (351 DCs, 2018-22).
Game 2
A three-goal spurt in the final five minutes propelled third-seeded Towson (8-10) to its first title game since 2023 with a 14-11 victory over second-seeded Hofstra (10-7).
Luca DeMaio registered seven points in the win, notching six goals and an assist. Her six snipes were the most in CAA Tournament game since Stony Brook’s Kailyn Hart scored seven in the opening round of the 2024 postseason. Valerie Thompson, who tallied the game-winning goal, registered a hat trick and two assists in the victory, while Elise Smigiel posted three goals of her own to go with a helper.
It was a defensive battle out of the gate as neither team cracked the scoreboard for the first 10 minutes of the game. Towson’s Smigiel opened the scoring at 4:34, corralling a pass from Thompson and ripping her attempt into the net for a 1-0 lead. Thompson doubled the Tigers’ lead with a snipe of her own in the final two minutes of the first quarter.
Hofstra’s Nikki Mennella unloaded a hat trick in the second quarter alone to bring the second-seeded Pride back to one each time. Towson’s DeMaio gave her squad a two-goal lead, 5-3, entering halftime after her heavy rip laced the right corner from five meters out with five seconds to play.
DeMaio continued to find the back of the cage in the third quarter, scoring 73 seconds into the half and firing a low attempt past the keeper with six minutes left in the frame to take a 7-4 edge. Mennella retaliated in transition to bring the Pride within two, snapping her shot over the goalie’s right shoulder less than a minute later.
The two teams continued to trade blows with the Tigers maintaining a two-goal lead until Hofstra’s Kayleigh Bender split two defenders and put her attempt into the back of the net for a 10-9 deficit. Mennella tied the game at 11 with her sixth rip of the contest, taking a feed from Bender and sniping the corner with under seven minutes to go.
Thompson, DeMaio and Hannah Lewis all rallied in the final five minutes, each finding the back of the net to help seal the three-goal win on Long Island.
Mennella’s six-goal effort saw the Smithtown, N.Y., native continue to climb up the CAA all-time leaderboard with 260 career points (T-10th) and 180 career goals (13th).
2026 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship
LaValle Stadium – Stony Brook, N.Y.
Thursday, April 30 – Semifinals
No. 1 Stony Brook 18, No. 4 Elon 6
No. 3 Towson 14, No. 2 Hofstra 11
Saturday, May 2 – Final
No. 3 Towson vs. No. 1 Stony Brook – 12:30 p.m.
Follow #CAALax on
Facebook,
Twitter, and
Instagram to get up-to-date information and learn more about CAA member institutions and their women’s lacrosse programs.