Igloo Girls 2023 Wins National Championship (u12 Division)

12U Division: Igloo (N.Y.) Rallies from Early Hole, Tops NXT 2023 (Pa.) for Gold
July 30, 2017

See Full Article at US Lacrosse Magazine’s Site

Kylee Colbert scored all three of her goals in the second half as Igloo (N.Y.) stormed back from an early 3-0 deficit to defeat NXT 2023 (Pa.), 7-3, in the championship game of the US Lacrosse Nationals 12U Division. The win gave Igloo its first gold medal in the two-year history of the youngest age division at this event.

“We had some silly turnovers in the first half, and their goalie (Samantha Cifra) was outstanding,” Igloo coach Tim Colbert said. “We talked to our offensive players about changing angles and finishing better, and we pressed out defensively, which changed things.”

Gabrielle Koury scored once and assisted on another goal to stake the Philadelphians to a 3-0 lead midway through the first half, and advantage buoyed by Cifra, who finished the game with six saves. Paris Panagopoulos finally broke the ice for Igloo at 9:53, and Colbert fed Reilly Weiss for a momentum changer with 1:21 left in the half to bring Igloo within 3-2.

Colbert got hot in the second half, including the tying and go-ahead goals, and Weiss finished with two goals and one assist for the victors.

“It’s just the second year for this team. It was our goal to come down and win this tournament,” Colbert said.

With the win, Igloo earns an automatic bid in the 13U Division to the 2018 US Lacrosse Nationals, set for Aug. 2-5 in Frederica, Del.

Igloo (N.Y.) Scoring: Kylee Colbert 3g, 1a; Reilly Weiss 2g, 1a; Paris Panagopoulos 1g, Alena Godas 1g, Kasi Samuda 1a, Emilia Berkowitz 1a.
Igloo (N.Y.) Goalies: Rose Quin Horstmann 3 saves, Ava Giugliano 2 saves.

NXT 2023 (Pa.) Scoring: Gabrielle Koury 1g, 1a; Kiersten Pumilia 1g, Julia Cannon 1g, Gabby Ridder 1a.
NXT 2023 (Pa.) Goalie: Samantha Cifra 6 saves.

Bronze Medal Game: Top Guns 2023 (N.Y.) 7, Yellow Jackets 2023 Blue (N.Y.) 6.

Article Written by: Paul Krome