As if it already hasn’t been a memorable season for Samantha Adey, she has the chance to make it one for the ages when she leads the University School of Milwaukee girls lacrosse team into tonight’s Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation state championship game against Arrowhead Red.
Earlier in the season, she notched the 100th win of her coaching career, which happens also to be the 100th win of the USM program she founded 10 years ago. And tonight at Carroll University’s Schneider Stadium starting at 7:30 p.m., Adey will lead her program to its second title game since 2015, facing Arrowhead Red in a rematch of that loss three seasons ago.
“Three years ago this was a mismatch, but it’s not as much of a mismatch this year,” Adey said. “This is as talented a lacrosse teams we I’ve seen in the state, and I have every reason to believe we can win Friday.”
It’s difficult to argue with that assessment. USM (16-2) is led by senior midfielder Grace Berrien, an All-American, first team All-State selection and a member of the Classic 8 all-conference first team. After finishing the 2018 regular season with 34 goals, nine assists and 47 draws won, she’ll take a gap year to travel through South America before attending the University of Virginia.
The Wildcats are also led by senior attacker Brook Uihlein, who led the team with 36 goals during the regular season. She also scored the game-winning goal Tuesday night in USM’s semifinal game against Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood with less than 2 minutes to play.
Berrien and Uihlein also are the two Wildcats still in the program who played against Arrowhead Red for the state title back in 2015. But three years is a long time in high school athletics, and Adey said her senior captains have grown a great deal.
“I think they’re totally different women and leaders than they were three years ago,” Adey said. “They are leaders on and off the field, and I think their level of composure on the field is different, too.”
Another year means another trip to the title game for Arrowhead Red (16-3), who will be playing for a fifth consecutive title. It is coach Tom Truttschel’s seventh appearance in the title game, as well.
This iteration of Arrowhead Red’s state finalist squad is unique because of the youth it features on the roster. The Warhawks won the Classic 8 Conference with an undefeated record despite having four freshmen on the Red team for the first time since 2012. However, those freshmen come with serious pedigree.
Freshman attacker Kylee Manser, for example, made Team Wisconsin earlier this season, becoming one of the top 22 girls in the state invited to play in a national tournament on the East Coast over Memorial Day weekend. She has 48 goals for the season, tied for the team lead with junior midfielder Jacklyn Batley.
“[The freshmen] have been looking forward to the chance to get onto Arrowhead in general, but when they made Arrowhead Red, it was like, ‘Wow,’” Truttschel said. “It has been a while since we’ve had freshmen on our team, so it means a lot to them. And they became part of a strong team with our seniors, juniors and sophomores — they weren’t out on an island.”
The Arrowhead Red youth movement is led by upperclassmen with plenty of championship experience. Along with Batley, senior middie Abbey Lippold scored 41 goals for the Warhawks, and junior middie Coryn Tormala added 38 goals, as well.
