PROVIDENCE – After losing last year’s Division III Girls Lacrosse Championship game, Smithfield knew exactly what to expect in its return trip to Brown University.
That didn’t make winning any easier.
The matchup with Toll Gate turned into a battle of teams that wanted to play in two different styles. The Titans were able to win those battles, but the Sentinels were able to win the war. Smithfield couldn’t get separation, but it finished with a tough defensive effort and a late goal from Grace Young that clinched a 6-4 win over Toll Gate for the program’s first championship.
“It just felt amazing,” said Smithfield’s Annabelle Lally, who scored two goals and was a force in the midfield. “We worked our entire season to be at this point. Last year we fell a little short and for this season to be the perfect ending, I’m just so happy.”
“We had a hard loss last year in the [Division III] championship,” Young said. “We’re so glad we could bring it home this year.”
Smithfield had five straight losing seasons before going 11-3 last year, then falling to East Providence in the Division III championship game. The loss wasn’t a setback, just a necessary experience and with most of the roster back for 2026, it set the Sentinels up for success.
The season was perfect, including an 11-4 win over Toll Gate during the regular season. With Lally, Young and Lexi Johnson-McMahon, Smithfield had the perfect ingredients to create goals.
Toll Gate was well aware of it. The Titans didn’t quite have the firepower to keep up with the Sentinels, but they played with grit and toughness, trying to frustrate their undefeated opponents.
Getting the first goal was the right step for Toll Gate, but Smithfield closed the first quarter with goals from Kaela Mechler and Lally, then got a Johnson-McMahon score with 5:44 left in the second quarter.
“When they scored their first goal we got a little rattled,” Lally said. “We’ve had some pretty big blowouts this year, but having a close game with Coventry a couple of weeks ago prepared us.”
“We knew it was going to be a hard game,” Young said. “… We knew Toll Gate was here for a reason. There were here to bring it, but we’re here to bring it as well.”
The Sentinels maintained the lead. Toll Gate found answers – Delanie Wheeler scored to cut the deficit to 3-2 at halftime – but the big-game experience mattered. Smithfield led 5-4 in the fourth and looked ready to kill the clock in the final two minutes.
Young found herself in an impossible spot, with a one-one-one opportunity with the goalie. Instead of pulling it out she pulled the trigger and buried the shot to make it 6-4 with 1:04 left.
Toll Gate assistant coach Jim Areson asked for a stick check, and his brother Jay – Smithfield’s head coach – smirked because he knew it was coming. The officials took significant time checking to make sure Young’s stick was legal before allowing the goal.
“It was legal,” Young said. “It was a little bit [motioning to show that it was legal], but it all worked out in the end.”
Young was responsible for the biggest goal and her sister, Sophia, was responsible for making sure Toll Gate didn’t have more. The sophomore stepped up to play this position this spring and in the final seconds, the sisters were next to each other as Toll Gate continued to fight, giving them a chance to celebrate together.
“I’m so proud of her – words can’t even express it,” Grace Young said. “I love that little girl with my whole heart and I know she’s going to do great things.”
Toll Gate did great things this season. In 2023 the Titans went 1-12, then improved to 5-8 before becoming a playoff team last spring. Six seniors played their final game for Toll Gate on Sunday, but none left feeling upset about what the team accomplished this season.
“That was everything to me,” Wheeler said. “My freshman year, we won one singular game and it was the not the best start to my high school career. How much we’ve progressed and grown as a team and being able to share that with my little sister meant everything to me.”
Last year Smithfield watched as East Providence celebrated on the field at Brown University. They learned from the game, learned what it took to win and learned how to celebrate a championship that was a year in the making.
“When it got down to six seconds [left] and it was outside the restraining line, I knew it was ours,” Lally said. “I just felt it, saw our goalie with it with six seconds left and it was awesome.”
“I threw my stick up in the air, I was so happy and I just ran right to my sister because I couldn’t have done it without her,” Grace Young said. “This was the perfect full-circle moment for Smithfield lacrosse.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Score from the 2026 Rhode Island Division III Girls Lacrosse Championship
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