Last spring, Cardinal Gibbons’ girls lacrosse team brought home their third championship ring in a row, winning the title that they have dominated since 2022.

Patricia Alexander, the head coach, was previously awarded National Coach of the Year for the success she leads her teams into. Funneling out nine Division I commits in 2024, “Coach Trish” continues to develop powerhouse athletes, but she also goes the extra mile by focusing on her connections with players.

“I love coaching because I interact spiritually and relationship-wise with the team. I get to help the girls with confidence and help them understand their worth, which is something extremely important to me,” said Coach Alexander. 

Alexander coaches alongside Jordan Lappin, Beth Ellis, and Gabby Young with Lappin and Young being Gibbons alumni. Ellis was the most recent addition to the team and got to experience the girls’ bond.

“You can always find a team that’s really close, but it’s even harder to find a team that respects their best friends by battling as hard as they can against them everyday,” said Ellis.

The team rolled against in-state competition in 2024 with a perfect in-conference record and only four losses against out-of-state teams. Playing top-10 teams in the country on their sojourns to Maryland and Georgia, this team proved they could compete at the top level. 

After breezing past Chapel Hill in the regional final, the girls got ready for states in another rematch of the previous state championship against Charlotte Catholic. This team was victorious by claiming the state championship,  19-7. 

“I mean winning, yeah it feels good. At the same time, coming from the point of view of someone who is not a starter, it’s just more fun to watch my friends who are going off to college. I feel like I have more fun watching my best friends doing what they love,”said  senior Lily Macken.

“It feels like all of our hard work we put in has paid off,”  said senior Vanderbilt commit Hayden Miller. “ I feel like we work harder than other teams and that shows.” 

“These girls worked their butts off every day at practice and always pushed one another to elevate their play. They were playing at a higher level and that’s very rare to see in high school. They earned that win and I am so fortunate to have been a part of it,” said Coach Ellis.

More than just winning

Macken, a core part of the program, describes the team as a family. She touches on her journey throughout her years, and how she learned to be a better person. 

“Lacrosse-wise I think it has definitely taught me some serious mental skills in life, such as listening and hard work. It teaches me how to be a team player because she (Coach Alexander) is all about cheering on people, not being in a bad mood if you’re playing bad, and just always being optimistic whether you’re having a good or bad day. It really taught me how to be a real teammate,” Macken said.

Miller learned how winning isn’t easy to achieve alone. She believes the team couldn’t have gotten where they are today without the support and work of her teammates. 

“The team has made me a better person because it has shown me that it takes a lot of hard work to be the best. It puts in perspective for me that things aren’t just handed to you,”  said Miller.  “All the hard times are going to pay off and your teammates will help you through it.”

Everyone loves winning, but what the girls in the program love more is the culture of their team. Their bond is something that truly cannot be broken or replicated. The chemistry off the field is what makes it so easy for the girls to depend on each other on the field.

“My favorite part of the team is the sisterhood we form with each other. We start the season and we are not very close with the underclassman, and then by the time we make our first road trip, we are all best friends. I mean really my favorite part is all my besties,” said senior Marquette commit Annabel Carlin.

Focusing on the well-being of the team instead of just the hard work is one of the major differences between Cardinal Gibbons and other schools. Whether it is Coach Alexander, the team captains, or the upperclassmen, everyone makes their fellow sisters the heart of the team. 

“Usually the captains try to make it their priority to make us all good friends, and they don’t want any drama. They want us to be a close team. Not just people who play lacrosse together, but friends who play lacrosse together,” said Macken.

Being able to lock in on the field and still have fun is a hard thing to execute. However, over time the new players learn the happy medium with the guidance of those around them.

“One way the team has impacted me as a person is I have learned when to make things silly and fun and to bounce around with my teammates, and when to turn things off and when to focus on what we’re doing and the opportunity we have had in front of us,” said Carlin.

This lacrosse team is more than just championship titles. 

Winning the North Carolina state championship for three consecutive years is an incredible accomplishment, and is well deserved by all their athletes. However, they could not have made it here without the remarkable relationships formed with one another. 

“Our team’s bond feels like a family,” said Miller.