York’s girls lacrosse team claimed the second-place trophy in the IHSA state tournament, which ended on Saturday, June 6, at Hinsdale Central High School.
The Dukes won five post-season games to advance to Saturday’s championship contest against Loyola Academy. The formidable Ramblers defeated York 21-3 to win the state title. Loyola also won the state championship in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Loyola finished second in the 2025 state tournament, losing to New Trier in the title game.
York earned the first trip to the state semifinals in program history this year. The Dukes finished the 2026 season with a 21-4 record.
York advanced to the championship game following its 17-6 win over Marist in a semifinal battle at Hinsdale Central on Thursday, June 4.
“It was a great season to finish second in the state,” said York coach Ryan Walz after the Dukes accepted the second-place trophy. “It’s our first-ever final four finish in state competition. Loyola is really solid. But we battled hard. We had to get through a lot of tough teams to get here.”
Loyola finished the season with a 22-4 record. All four of the Ramblers’ losses were to teams from outside of Illinois.
The Ramblers raced out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter of the championship game, which was played in hot weather on Saturday afternoon. Loyola held a 13-1 lead at halftime.
“We couldn’t win the draw,” said Walz. “Possession is everything in the sport.”
Senior Morgan Navarre scored York’s first goal of the championship game during the second quarter. Senior Hayden Daniel scored a third-quarter goal for the Dukes. Senior Ella Skotty supplied York’s final goal of the game during the fourth quarter.
Senior Kayla Mirante scored five goals for the Dukes in the team’s 17-6 triumph over Marist in the June 4 semifinal contest. Daniel and Skotty contributed three goals each. Senior Elizabeth Specht netted two goals for the Dukes. Navarre, junior Abby Evans, sophomore Riley Raible and senior Lucy Guistolise provided one goal each.
York and Marist were tied at 3-3 after one quarter. The Dukes held a 6-3 halftime lead. York extended its lead to 10-4 by the end of the third quarter.
Barrington defeated Marist 10-7 in the third-place contest, which took place just before the championship game.
