As the Arrowhead Red girls lacrosse team has racked up five Wisconsin Lacrosse Federation state championships in six years, there have been countless strategies employed to slow down the best program in the state.
This year, in a rematch of last season’s title matchup, the University School of Milwaukee (USM) is bringing a youthful exuberance to throw at the Warhawks.
“We have a lot of younger players who are impact players on the team this year,” USM coach Sam Adey said, whose squad also lost the 2015 title to the Warhawks. “As the season has progressed, they have become more confident and poised on the field, which makes us more dangerous now than earlier in the season.”
It’s hard to imagine a pair of underclassmen more poised and dangerous than freshman Grace Tuttle and sophomore Anna Guttormsom, who will lead the charge to avenge USM’s loss to Arrowhead Red in the 2018 championship game.
The duo combined to score 102 points this season, including 45 goals from Tuttle and another 41 from Guttormson, as the Wildcats earned the Classic 8 – Red title.
When Arrowhead and USM met on May 13, the Wildcats fell behind early and trailed by three goals at halftime in a 9-7 loss. They managed to lose by just two goals, but Adey knows after countless battles with the Warhawks during her 10 years as a coach that you can’t give Arrowhead Red any opportunities like that.
“What we want to do hasn’t changed — it’s about execution,” Adey said. “We did not come out like we wanted to, and we dug ourselves a big hole early in the game. Then we played differently in the second half than we did in the first.”
Even though USM lost its title shot to Arrowhead Red last year, Adey isn’t dismissing the value of the experience her Wildcats gained playing under the bright lights of Schneider Stadium at Carroll University. And for the seven seniors on the squad, knowing this is their last chance for a state title at USM.
“We have a lot of seniors, and most of them are three-sport athletes,” Adey said. “For them, this is mostly their last shot, so there is a real focus for them to win a state title this year.”
For Arrowhead Red, last year’s championship team relied on a bevy of freshmen to bring home the hardware. Now that those players have one more year under their belt, that experience will prove invaluable, as well.
“The freshmen we had last year being sophomores this year, they know how to play with the upperclassmen better,” Arrowhead Red coach Tom Truttschel said.
The Arrowhead Red midfield remains the strength of this team, with All-Americans like seniors Jacklyn Batley and Coryn Tormala leading the way for the Warhawks. Sophomore Kylee Manser led the offense with 40 goals, junior Stephanie Curry had 32 and Tormala added 30 for the Classic 8 – Black champions.
