NCAA Div III Women's LAX Championship Game Features Two Madison Champions

Cheers went up in Madison after Gettysburg beat Bowdoin 16-5 Sunday for the NCAA Division III Women’s lacrosse championship, and in this case the cheers were for both teams.

Becky Lutz, a Hand High graduate and a senior at Gettysburg, played for the winning team against the Bowdoin team, which included freshman Molly Paduda, who attended Hand for two years. Both were members of the Hand lacrosse team and contributed to SCC tournament victories and state championship pursuits.

Sunday’s win enabled the Gettysburg Bullets to survive a battle against the upstart Bowdoin Polar Bears who entered the tournament with an at-large bid before beating two undefeated teams to reach the championship game.

Playing with intensity and heart pays off

“We went out with a lot of intensity and heart, that’s what created such a lead for us and kept us out in front,” Becky Lutz said.

“They brought their A game and beat us,” said Molly Paduda, who was extremely proud of her team’s effort. “We played Trinity and the College of New Jersey, the top ranked team and beat them both. No one was expecting us to get that far.”

The game was a splendid experience for two former Hand High lacrosse players who contributed to the team’s SCC championship in 2007, when the Tigers advanced to the state semifinals before losing to Wilton.

Fierce competitors, hard workers, consistent strong players with postive attitudes

Becky Lutz was the MVP of the 2007 SCC tournament. “Becky was always a fierce competitor,” Molly Paduda said. “Her tenacity and pride in her play pushed me to do everything I could. She worked with the team to bring the best out of everyone.”

Becky valued Molly’s contribution to the Hand team, too. “She was always working hard in practice, she wanted to get better and do better for the team. She was a positive presence and someone you could rely on, a very consistent strong player,” she said.

Becky Lutz attributed Sunday’s victory in part to her experience at Hand. “We had such a great group of talented girls, playing with them in practice and games made me a better player,” she said. “College is a much faster paced game than high school, but playing with talented girls all four years helped me make the transition to Gettysburg.”

Molly Paduda made the New England Small College Athletic Conference second team as a freshman this year. “I’ve grown a lot as a player and really value the experience I had at Hand,” she said.