The Maryland Charm and California Palms met at Subaru Park on Saturday to battle for the inaugural WLL Championship. Both teams came into the game with regular season records of 3-1, but the Palms were looking to avenge an 18-17 overtime loss to the Charm back in late May. However, it would be the Charm using four separate 3-goal runs throughout the game, while neutralizing the Palms offense in the early stages of the game to eventually prevail 16-13 and become the 2026 WLL Champions.
First quarter makes all the difference for the Charm
Maryland had two of those 3-goal runs in the first quarter, giving them a 7-4 lead after 12 minutes. After giving up the first goal of the game, the Charm took the lead at the 3:47 mark and never trailed again. This despite the teams playing evenly over the final three quarters (scoring was 9-9 over the last 36 minutes of the game).
Sydni Black (4g, 1a) was named Championship Game MVP, with three of those goals coming in the first half. Cassidy Spilis (3g, 1a) and Alex Holman (3g) also recorded hat tricks on the day. The midfield tandem of Ally Kennedy (2g) and Brigid Duffy (2g, 2a) combined for six points, and Ashley Humphrey (4a) and Sam Apuzzo (2a) combined for six assists. Livy Rosenzweig won 14 of 30 draw controls, scored a goal, and picked up a game-high six ground balls. Once again, the goaltending tandem of Caylee Waters and Jenika Cuocco worked to perfection. Waters made 8 saves in the first half, while Cuocco stopped 9 of 15 California shots in the second half to close the door on the first WLL title for the Charm.
Charm pull away in final six minutes to deny Palms again in title game
Leading the way for the Palms were Anna Brandt (4g), Ally Mastroianni (3g), and Emma LoPinto (3g). LoPinto had a tough first half, going over 23 minutes without even registering a shot. However, her goal with 7 seconds left in the half brought California within two, and Brandt scored back-to-back to open the second half, tying the game at 9-9. Unfortunately for the Palms, the Charm would respond with their third 3-goal run of the game to go ahead 12-9 entering the fourth quarter. They would then put together a fourth such run in the final frame to pull away for the win.
Ellie Masera (2g, 2a), Sam Geiersbach (1g, 2a), and Marie McCool (3a) also got the scoreboard for the Palms, who suffered their second title game loss this year (they lost the 2026 Championship Series title game in March to the New York Charging). The Palms went 16 for 31 on draw controls, but lost the ground ball battle 50-42. Taylor Moreno made 15 saves in net for California. The Palms also had possession for just over 18 minutes, compared to nearly 25 minutes for the Charm.
