'The strongest team we've ever had': Pensacola Catholic girls lacrosse tops Gulf Breeze

Every team says they have a family bond.

Teammates enjoy hanging out with each other. They hang out when not practicing or playing in games. At some point, it almost becomes cliché to say the statement. And usually, those teams are right. The budding chemistry is shown on the field.

The Pensacola Catholic girls lacrosse team is doing just that – and then some.

Still undefeated on the year, the Crusaders topped local foe Gulf Breeze in dominating fashion, 15-4, for their 13th win of the season on Wednesday at Gorecki-LeBeau Stadium.

“With our team this year, we know what kind of team we are. We have a lot of powerful players. We just went out today and played the game we know how to play,” Pensacola Catholic head coach Chloe Weinmann said. “We controlled the ball and possessed the ball. Gulf Breeze definitely fought us harder than they did last time we faced them. But, our team just played with poise and controlled the ball.”

Wednesday’s tilt got off to an unusual start. The contest was originally scheduled for Friday, and the game got a few minutes in before it was postponed due to thunder and lightning. In the limited time, the Crusaders scored and Gulf Breeze was about to have a free position shot with 8 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first quarter – but the referee’s whistle blew and the game never continued.

So, Wednesday became a continuation. The game started with 8:37 left, Pensacola Catholic led 1-0, and right away, Gulf Breeze scored on that free position to tie the game. But that would be the only goal the Dolphins scored for the remainder of the quarter.

Pensacola Catholic’s offense kept its foot on the gas pedal, scoring three unanswered goals before Erin Kokora cut the deficit in half with 9:20 left in the half.

But the goal didn’t phase the Crusaders, as Julia Frosch (2), Natalie Biggs (2), Ella Adams (2), Collier Brown (2) all scored through the remainder of the first half and into the third stanza to take a 13-2 lead. Sarah Kemp, on a low underhand shot on a free position, ended the run with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

Adams and Biggs both scored in the final quarter to round out Pensacola Catholic’s score, while Chloe McMillion scored in the middle of those two goals for the Dolphins.

“We’ve really been using what we’re working on in practice,” Ella Adams said. “I’m proud of how we played as a team. It definitely showed throughout this game.”

“It’s really good to see our drills and all of our attack plays evolve on the field,” Brown said.

Gulf Breeze falls to 8-5 on the year, and plays Navarre on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Dolphins only have a few games left to end the regular season.

“We’ve got to look at regionals,” Gulf Breeze head coach Ken McIlhenny said after the game. “The district should go smoothly for us. But the region is where we’ve got to put it together. We’ll see what happens.”

Pensacola Catholic (13-0) goes to the Episcopal School of Jacksonville on Friday for a 6 p.m. contest.

“We have Episcopal and St. Augustine, who have both beaten us in the past,” Weinmann said. “We’re looking to come out with some wins. We have the strongest team we’ve ever had. We’re really excited.”

‘We know the abilities of each other’

Whether it’s the Pensacola Catholic offense, defense or goaltending, it’s working. That statement should be obvious after 13 wins, no losses, and winning by an average of 15.5 goals.

First is the offense. Weinmann called the Crusaders’ midfield line “phenomenal.” The trio of Adams, Frosch and Brown combined for 12 of Pensacola Catholic’s 15 goals on Wednesday. On top of their prolific scoring, they also dominate at the faceoff circle, winning several draws each game to start the offense.

Then, when you add in the attacking players of Biggs and Becca Bradley, Pensacola Catholic keeps finding twine.

“There’s a lot of great communication on our attack and knowledgeable players,” Weinmann said. “All of those weapons combined create an attack that works really well together.”

“We use our speed. We’re all fast players and have good stick skills,” Frosch said. “We can find openings and work together.”

That off-field connection and chemistry helps those offensive-minded players, reading “each other’s minds” and knowing where teammates are going to be to provide crucial assists on goals.

“We can make assists where we know the other person will catch it,” Frosch said. “We’re confident in each other. And with our confidence, we see more success.”

Second is the defense. Going into Wednesday’s game, Pensacola Catholic had won the last five games by shutout. Not only have the Crusaders limited shots on goal, but they’ve also limited possession in the offensive zone by opponents.

While the offense may seem like a strength for Pensacola Catholic, Weinmann called the defense one of the team’s “biggest strengths.”

“We run a very specific style of defense that our coaches have studied a lot of film to figure our what’s going to work for our team,” Weinmann said. “The way we pressure up high rattles a lot of other teams, and it makes it hard to control the ball when there are girls coming in and attacking you.”

Again, it all stems to that family bond the Crusaders have. Adams noted it’s a “I’ve got your back” mentality across the players.

“We know each other’s strengths. We have each other’s backs. We’re able to force an attacker one way or another.,” Frosch said. “We know the abilities of each other.”

“We always try to talk. ‘I have your help, I have your slide, Ella you’re on ball,’” Brown said. “We always talk through it, and it’s helped our zone defense come together.”

Last, it’s the goaltending. And Rosie Langston is certainly not least. Langston made several crucial saves on Gulf Breeze free position shots on Wednesday, and has allowed an average of less than five goals per game.

“That was the best game I’ve ever seen her play. She was a brick wall in there. She did a great job,” Weinmann said. “Her positioning on the goals, and not letting the free positions get in her head, plus clearing shots to the correct player to get our attack different – the game would’ve been completely different if we didn’t have Rosie today.”

Road Crusaders

There’s perhaps a silver lining that the game against Gulf Breeze was pushed to Wednesday. Pensacola Catholic got to face one of the other top teams on the Panhandle before starting a five-game road stretch to end its regular season.

The Crusaders will go to the Episcopal School of Jacksonville on Friday and St. Augustine on Saturday, two teams that got the best of the Crusaders in 2023. But the road games don’t end there. Pensacola Catholic, eventually, goes to Niceville on Wednesday, before two more long road trips to Oak Hall in Gainesville area and Bishop Moore in the Orlando area.

Going against tough competition not in the area was always Pensacola Catholic’s plan all along. After all, those are the teams the Crusaders will eventually see in the regional tournament.

“We wanted to have this game now so this could be our most difficult game before we get on the road. We face some really tough competition soon,” Weinmann said. “The team cohesion translates to on the field, and I think we’re ready for this road stretch. We’re excited.”

“We know that we can dominate anywhere over here (on the Panhandle). We need to take it to the next level when we travel,” Frosch said. “We need to amp up our excitement and effort, because we know we have the confidence to do so.”

Going on the road for the next five games isn’t a concern, either. Weinmann said there’s excitement among the team being able to spend extra time with each other – a long bus ride “on a nice bus,” overnight stays at hotels and all the little extras that come with extended road trips.

When asked about the upcoming road trips, the players immediately smiled. “We love the long bus rides,” Brown immediately said.

“We don’t even really get sick of each other. … We don’t have that big of a team,” Frosch said.

“We’re all just one big family,” Adams quickly added.

Don’t get the players wrong, however. They love the home-field advantage they have at Gorecki-LeBeau Stadium. The Crusaders haven’t lost at home since April 1, 2023, to Starr’s Mill (Georgia).

“We know that we can do it – last season and this season – just being away. This competition is going to give us a run for our money,” Adams said. “I’m excited to see where we go.”

“We try to stay focused because we know we’re about to enter a whole new level of competition,” Brown said, referring to the win streak.

‘We were having a hard time’

While Pensacola Catholic’s defense was suffocating, it was more so trying to stop the prolific scoring of the Crusaders that plagued Gulf Breeze. McIlhenny said the Dolphins even tried to face-guard – or play tight defense against individual players – certain key players, including Frosch.

It’s something McIlhenny has had to do since Frosch was a freshman, and he was coaching at Pensacola. “She’s smart. She’s learned,” McIlhenny added.

“She’s a Division I lacrosse player, and it’s obvious,” McIlhenny said. “It’s not the defense. It’s the offense. And you know exactly who I’m talking about. … The two of them (Julia and Ella) dominate on draws, then they dominate on offense.”

McIlhenny told his players the three main components to winning a lacrosse game include draw controls, ground balls and “good possession.” Winning the battle in those three categories – or even two of those three areas – provides a team a good chance to win games.

“If you don’t have any of the three, you’re not going to win games. And that’s what it was tonight,” McIlhenny said. “We were having a hard time.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Catholic girls lacrosse beats Gulf Breeze to stay undefeated