RVC lacrosse players lead Delaware club team to title

Jillian Leonard and Marybeth Vecchione have been lacrosse teammates and friends since their elementary school days in Rockville Centre. They enjoyed much success playing on the village’s school and travel teams, so it was only fitting that they would lead their collegiate club squad to a national championship.

The Rockville Centre alumnae travelled with their University of Delaware teammates to Salt Lake City on May 13 to compete in the U.S. Lacrosse Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association Championship Tournament. Despite being a No. 7 seed, the Division I Blue Hens left as the undisputed top club team in the country.

During their first semesters at Delaware, both girls were hopeful to join the club lacrosse team. Of the 50 players who tried out, Leonard and Vecchione joined only five others as the sole selections. The girls, who attended different high schools despite living in the village, were united again. But one difference loomed large: this team is self-coached.

According to collegeexpress.com, sport clubs allow students to get together regularly to play a sport they love, though they do not meet as often or for as long as varsity teams. Club teams are typically managed and run by the participants themselves, including coach selection, travel, fundraising, scheduling, practices, and participant development.

The spring season began on a high note as Delaware swept Towson, Maryland, Rutgers and Westchester en route to their first tournament win of the year. They qualified for the regional tournament, and the Blue Hens squeaked out a tough victory against North Carolina thanks to goalie Carol Keller’s heroic last-second save. After beating Virginia in the finals, the team took home its first Mid-Atlantic regional championship.

Next up, nationals.

Delaware faced off against No. 2 Santa Clara in the quarterfinals, and the game turned into a nail-biter. Down 7-3 in the first half, the Blue Hens hung tough and found themselves tied at 12 with less than two minutes remaining. With the game on her stick in the biggest game of the season, Leonard scored what proved to be the game-winning goal. Santa Clara had one more chance to tie the game, but stellar defense from Vecchione and the other Delaware defenders shut down the Bronco offense.

The championship game against top-seeded Pittsburgh read like a script for the self-coached No. 7 seed. A hat trick from Leonard and plenty of forced turnovers from Vecchione helped Delaware turn a three-goal deficit into a 13-11 national championship victory.

“Going into nationals, we knew that there was a chance for us to make it to the championship as we all felt we were on our game,” Leonard said. “Taking on Pitt in the finals was very exciting and having them ranked No. 1 motivated us more than it scared us. Being the first self-coached team to win the national title was not only an accomplishment for us, but a huge step forward for the entire club lacrosse program.”

How did a self-coached team who had never won more than a single game in the tournament upset the field? Vecchione said it was the team’s talent, respect and motivation.

“Being a self-coached team really helped us because we all have so much respect for each other and our captains,” she said. “We know how to motivate each other and we were all playing solely for the team. This team was special because from day one, the seniors told us that we have the potential to become national champions. They said this was the most talented team we had yet and that constant reassurance that we could be the best is really what kept us fired up and ready to win.”

Coached by Vecchione’s father Tom, the girls began their lacrosse careers in fourth grade. They went on to play for the South Side Middle School team, RVC lacrosse teams and spent their summers on the RVC Select Team. But they went their separate ways in high school. Vecchione made the varsity team at Sacred Heart Academy, while Leonard remained in the district and joined the South Side varsity squad. But they were still teammates on a Liberty Travel team throughout their high school years.