The UVM Women’s Club Lacrosse team completed its first undefeated season with an 11-9 win over top-seeded Cornell in the New England Women’s Lacrosse League (NEWLL) Championships on April 21 at the University of Rhode Island.

The win capped off a 15-0 season including a 9-0 record in the NEWLL with wins over the University of Maine, Dartmouth College and UMass-Lowell en route to North Region title and a spot in the regional playoffs in Kingston, R.I. UVM beat Hofstra 9-5 in the semifinals before upsetting previously undefeated Cornell.

Despite winning the league title, UVM didn’t receive an invitation to the national championships in Colorado as expected. The team was informed on April 22 after being told it had qualified for nationals that the NEWLL hadn’t been in existence long enough to receive an automatic bid. Team members then pinned their hopes on at-large bid, but weren’t among the eight teams selected. The NEWLL will receive an automatic bid next year.

“Being a part of this year’s team has been an incredible experience,” said senior Stephanie Parente. “We worked extremely hard and had a lot of fun, which I believe is the point of participating in a club sport. We are extremely disappointed that we didn’t make nationals, but we still had an incredible undefeated season. This has been the best team I have ever played on. It’s an amazing group of girls. I wish we could have continued, but I'm sure they’ll be back next year.”

The UVM Women’s Club Lacrosse team is a student-run organization of about 25 players that was started more than a decade ago to provide an opportunity for female athletes to continue playing lacrosse at a collegiate level without the varsity-level commitment.