In the final Saturday of the LILJ Winter 7s champions will be crowned today. In both the middle school and high school league, the brackets have been all chalk with the top two seeds advancing to the finals. In the middle school league Empire 2027 takes on FLG 2028 Navy. The high school league has two championship games with FLG 2024 playing FLG 2027 Navy in pool one, and Team Pink going against Manhasset in pool two.
Junior Winter 7s Championship Game
FLG Navy 2028 vs Empire 2027
The two highest seeds have held serve and are meeting in the championship game at 10:15. For Empire they earned a 12-6 win over YJ Mills in the semis to reach the championship where they will look to cap off the winter with a perfect 9-0 record. They’ve continued to follow the script that has gotten them to this point which has been getting contributions from several players on both sides of the ball. In the semis they had five different players tally multiple goals including Kelly Harrington, Olivia Morgan, Hailey Perez, Gabrielle Silvia, and Katelynn Tuhoy. Defensively they held YJ Mills to only one goal in the first half which helped them build a sizable lead. Now they will face this feisty and talented 2028 FLG team for the third time with the title on the line. For FLG their path to championship was through the 2027 white FLG team who they were able to defeat 11-5. A slim halftime lead managed to grow in thanks to four second half goals from Sophia Flanagan. Ashley Arizonis also poured in four goals, and the defense of Riley Iannotti, Emma Lembo, Carly Sullivan, Callie Schomburg, and Kiera McNamara contained the opposing offense the entire game, limiting their shots on goal. FLG will now look to crack the code and come away victorious the third time around against Empire who has doubled them in goals the first two games, winning 10-5 and 12-6. A matchup to watch is Empire attacker Ava Clark going against the FLG defense. Clark has had significant success against them, scoring 7 total goals in the previous two matchups.
High School Winter 7s Championship Games
Team Pink vs Manhasset
In pool two at 3:30 its a finals rematch between Team Pink and the reigning two-time champion Manhasset Indians. The storyline here is whether or not it will be a three-peat for Manhasset or a new champion in Team Pink. Starting with the defending champions, Manhasset has only one defeat all winter which came at the hands of Team Pink by a score of 13-9. Since then they’ve relatively been in cruise control, but were tested by the Shamrocks in the semis where they earned a 15-12 win. Mia LoPinto and Shea Panzik were the driving force, coming through with seven and six points respectively. Lauren Perfetto, Cate Leder, and Jillian Gangaram each recorded two goals. The formula to come away victorious against Team Pink is going to be an all hands on deck approach to try to match their offensive firepower. In the semis Team Pink earned a big 17-5 win over Sacred Heart. They had no issues scoring but they also got a gem from goalie Stella Quilty, making 15 saves with just the five goals allowed. In the regular season matchup against Manhasset goaltending was also the story of the game with Maya Soskin recording 17 saves. The goalie matchup could ultimately decide which team takes home the championship
FLG 2027 Navy vs FLG 2024
At 4:15 it will be the pool one championship which is a battle of the FLG teams between 2027 Navy and the 2024s. The 2027s come into this game at 7-0 with this easily being their toughest challenge yet. In the semis they defeated Top Guns 2027 Black in a hard fought 12-9 game. Isabella Fiorelli had a dominant six goal game that pushed FLG to the finish line. For the 2024 team they also enter the finals after being battle tested against Liberty 2026 who they defeated 9-7. Ashlinn Kelly had a four goal, two assist game to give them a spot in the championship game. Defensively neither team has allowed double digit goals in any game through the winter. The winner of this game will take home the championship with an undefeated record.
