Germantown Friends School wins 5th straight FSL title in an 11-8 victory vs. Shipley - PSD Photo by Lennie Malmgren
Photos/Videos: Lennie Malmgren & Aidan Tyksinski
By: Aidan Tyksinski
PHILADELPHIA – Germantown Friends vs. Shipley. For anyone who has followed Friends League women's lacrosse for the last half decade, they will be familiar with those two schools playing in the final. In the past four years, Germantown has come out on top over the Gators. On Tuesday, the Tigers made it five straight.
“It’s a great rivalry,” said Germantown head coach Katie Bergstrom Mark. “They’re a really good team. Their goalie (Rylee Louden) played a really great game, she’s a really great player. Our goalie (Caterina Rogers) played great on our end. It’s really just a fun rivalry and it will only get better from here.”
Unlike in last year's game, it was Shipley who got off to a hot start, scoring the first two goals of the contest. Both goals were scored by junior Elianna Chapman, who took her time finding open spots in the crease to deliver her shots.
2025 FSL Championship - Germantown Friends vs. Shipley School - PSD Highlights by Lennie Malmgren
For most teams, a 2-0 deficit less than three minutes into a championship game could be disastrous. But the Tigers are not most teams, and they used their past experiences to overcome being down.
“We just trust in each other and it’s really helpful to have our fans cheering us on,” said junior Olivia Lutey, whose four goals was a major factor in the outcome of the game. “We just get through it together. We know what we’ve trained for, we know what we’ve done this whole season, so we just brought it together and had a lot of fun.”
GFS junior Olivia Lutey notched four goals in the FSL Championship - PSD Video by Aidan Tyksinski
GFS senior Anna Pendse talks about her teams' winning culture - PSD Video by Aidan Tyksinski
Lutey got the scoring going for Germantown after great passing from her teammates, then running into the crease before firing a laser past Louden. Germantown would add two more goals in the frame to take a 3-2 lead. In the second quarter, senior Anna Pendse scored two of the Tigers three goals. Rogers, who finished the game with 11 saves, was almost impassable, only allowing one goal with 2:38 remaining in the half.
“We just all really support each other,” said Pendse about the game. “It’s really nice. When you’re out there it can kind of feel a little bit stressful, but everyone is really supporting each other and wants to do well.”
Goal by Shipley junior Elianna Chapman #4 - Video by Aidan Tyksinski
Goal by GFS junior Olivia Lutey #42 - PSD Video by Aidan Tyksinski
Save by GFS goal keeper Caterina Rogers #4 - Video by Aidan Tyksinski
While Shipley might have been down, they were certainly not out. In the third quarter, the Gators scored three unanswered goals, tying the game at six all.
Senior Hailey Murray netted two of the goals in that run and finished with a hat trick for the day. The two teams then traded goals before Lutey went on a 2-0 run herself to put the Tigers up 9-7. Germantown would then score one more goal to go up 10-7 heading into the last quarter of play.
GFS senior Riya Mainigi says that this championship victory was her favorite and most emotional - PSD Video by Aidan Tyksinski
Katie Bergstrom Mark says that while every championship is special, this one ranks close to the top - PSD Video by Aidan Tyksinski
The 4th quarter saw one goal from each team, as well as physical play that led to penalties from both teams. Through all the chaos, the Tigers were able to stay focused on their mission to win a 5th consecutive league title.
“Remembering that we know how we play and we know when we play composed we do our best,” said co-captain and senior Riya Mainigi about how the team kept composed. “So kind of keeping each other in check and holding each other accountable is something that has been our goal all season long.”
For the Germantown seniors, the victory was more than just this one season.
“It’s been so cool, just to be part of a team that has such an amazing culture and a winning culture, and really wants to come back and win every year,” said Pendse, who was part of the Tigers last four championships. “I think it’s a really special team to be a part of.”
“This one is definitely my favorite, being my senior year,” said Mainigi.
