AACC Women’s Lacrosse Team Wins National Championship

Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) historically has had competitive women’s lacrosse teams for the last few decades as they have won three national championships since 2006.

This year, head coach Jim Griffiths hoped that this talented team of newcomers would jell into a formative and savvy squad.

With his team practicing since mid-January, Griffiths recognized that the Riverhawks had special qualities, gave great effort in practice and had talented players, especially at midfield.

“We had four midfielders make Junior College (JUCO) All-Americans and that was our core of the team,” Griffiths said.

Those four All-Americans were midfielders Nelli Gownley, Lindsey Miller, Savanna Reitz and Julia Sokolowski. Goalie Kaitlyn Evans also earned the All-American honor.

Both Sokolowski and Gownley were on Broadneck’s state championship teams, which gave the Riverhawks playoff experience — a key factor in the JUCO national title chase.

During their undefeated regular season, the Riverhawks offense dominated their opponents and averaged nearly 20 goals a game. Sokolowski was named National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 20 Player of the Month in April and twice-named NJCAA Player of the Week.

“Julia is a wizard with a stick,” Griffiths said. “She transferred in from Florida Southern at mid-year and immediately raised the talent level of our midfield with her outstanding skills.”

Broadneck girls varsity lacrosse head coach Katy Kelley knew how much talent Sokolowski would add to the Riverhawks.

“Julia is the epitome of skill, speed and eye for the cage,” Kelley said. “She combines precision with grit to be a threat offensively. She was a huge asset to the success of our program and helped win two state championships during her tenure.”

Gownley also enrolled in January after spending a year-and-a-half at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

“I was a little homesick and Sacred Heart asks a great deal from their lacrosse players,” Gownley said, adding that “there’s not a lot of free time and it’s a huge commitment with practice, games, study halls, classes and homework.”

According to Griffiths, Gownley is the “consummate team player” and really became the team’s vocal leader with her positive reinforcement in practice and games.

“Being a new player on the team, I didn’t want to be the vocal leader at first, but I’m just that way,” Gownley said. “I love to be positive and make everyone feel good about their efforts.”

Kelley also knew what Gownley would bring to the Riverhawks, stating, “Nellie is a player who exudes hard work, toughness and a willingness to do anything to help the team succeed,” Kelley said. “Her quiet humility combined with her raw athleticism makes her a fearless defender who causes turnovers and wreaks havoc on opponents. She defined our ‘we over me’ mentality.”

The leadership that Sokolowski and Gownley brought was tested in the national tournament in May. They were challenged in the semifinals by a pesky Harford Community College team, finally prevailing 19-16, but according to Gownley, that was not the Riverhawks’ best effort.

“We played really bad in that game, and we only had one game in the prior month,” Gownley said. “The team had a great talk, and we knew we had to play better if we wanted to be national champs.”

Griffiths was also uneasy going into the national championship game. “We were down a couple of players due to injuries and we only had 14 players,” he said. “I think we had eight players who never came off the field in those last two games.”

Although physically drained from playing two games on consecutive days, AACC beat Onondaga Community College of New York 14-11 in the national championship game to the delight of Griffiths and his players.

“It was a back-and-forth game in the first half, but we were determined not to lose,” Sokolowski said. “It was a seven-hour ride to New York, and we didn’t come all this way to lose.”

After winning the national championship, the team went through the emotions of “excitement, relief and happiness” according to Sokolowski, and the ride home consisted of “a bunch of food and a nap.”

Sokolowski will transfer to the University of South Carolina in the fall and study business and sports management while possibly playing club lacrosse. Gownley will transfer to the University of Maryland and study economics and play club lacrosse.

Both players have had the fortune of playing on a state championship and a national championship lacrosse team.

“I’m so thankful for all of the really good friends I have made playing lacrosse and played for great coaches like coach Kelley and coach Griffiths,” Sokolowski said.

As for Griffiths, it all starts again next fall when he gets a new cast of players and tries to orchestrate them into a team that competes for another national championship.