Lady Leopards Pound Poland 14-1 to Open Tournament – Girls Lacrosse
#13 Louisville 14, #14 Poland 1
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The #13 seed Louisville Leopards Girls Lacrosse Team opened tournament play in dominant fashion Wednesday night, rolling past the visiting #14 seed Poland Seminary Bulldogs 14-1 in the opening round of the Division II, Region 6 playoffs at Louisville Leopards Stadium. On a chilly and windy night, the Lady Leopards broke the game open with four second-quarter goals and finished with six more in the fourth to improve to 10-5 on the season.
Louisville advances and will travel to Gates Mills to take on the #2 seed Hawken Hawks in the second round on Tuesday, May 19 at 6:00 PM from Walton Stadium.
Babcock Scores 5 Goals to Lead Louisville
Izzy Babcock powered the Louisville offense with a game-high 5 goals and an assist. After Claire Genet opened the scoring in the first quarter, Babcock helped the Lady Leopards take full control in the second.
Babcock scored off a feed from Grace Diller at the 7:26 mark of the second quarter to make it 2-0. Just 59 seconds later, she struck again after collecting a rebound and firing a shot through traffic between four defenders to increase the Louisville advantage to 3-0.
The junior completed her hat trick early in the third quarter off an assist from Josie Butler, pushing the Leopards’ lead to 6-0. Babcock added her fourth goal in the fourth quarter when goalkeeper Alivia Heckman sent a long pass ahead, putting Babcock ahead of the pack for the fast-break score. She then capped her five-goal night by winning a late draw and taking it all the way in herself to make it 13-1 with under three minutes left.
Babcock also assisted on Callie McKimmie’s third-quarter goal with 18 seconds left, helping Louisville answer Poland’s lone score and rebuild a seven-goal cushion heading into the final quarter.
Genet Adds 4 Goals for Leopards
Genet also delivered a big postseason performance, finishing with 4 goals in the win. Genet got Louisville on the board at the 10:01 mark of the opening quarter off an assist from Abby Demos, giving the Lady Leopards a 1-0 lead they would never relinquish.
Genet struck again late in the second quarter off a pass from Natalie Warner to send Louisville into halftime ahead 5-0. She then added a third-quarter goal assisted by Kloey Rukavina to make it 7-0 before scoring her fourth and final goal in the fourth quarter off another Demos assist.
Her fourth goal stretched the Leopards’ lead to 12-1 with 3:32 remaining and helped fuel Louisville’s six-goal fourth-quarter finish.
Diller Tallies 2 Goals and 3 Assists
Grace Diller continued to be a major factor in the Louisville attack, finishing with 2 goals and 3 assists. Diller assisted on Babcock’s first goal of the night, then found the back of the net herself in the second quarter after picking her own deflected pass out of the air behind the goal and spinning in front to score.
Diller added a second goal in the fourth quarter off an assist from Butler, extending Louisville’s lead to 10-1. She also assisted on fourth-quarter goals by Rukavina and Warner, helping the Lady Leopards close the game with a flurry.
Heckman Helps Leopards Nearly Blank Bulldogs
Heckman helped anchor a strong defensive effort in goal as Louisville held Poland to just one score on the night. The Bulldogs were kept off the scoreboard for nearly three full quarters before Sofia Elia scored off an assist from Aurelia Cook with 1:08 remaining in the third quarter to make it 7-1.
That goal was the only blemish in an otherwise dominant defensive performance for the Lady Leopards. Louisville held Poland scoreless in the first, second, and fourth quarters while allowing its fewest goals in a tournament game since blanking Beachwood 17-0 in the 2018 Division II, Region 6 qualifying round.
Heckman also made an impact on the other end, recording a rare goalkeeper assist in the fourth quarter when she passed ahead to Babcock for Louisville’s 11th goal of the night.
Louisville Continues Success Against Poland
With the victory, Louisville improved to 8-1 all-time against Poland Seminary, including a perfect 4-0 mark at home. The Lady Leopards have now outscored Poland 120-41 across the nine-game series, with Wednesday’s contest marking the first postseason matchup between the two squads.
Wednesday’s win also avenged Louisville’s lone loss in the series, an 8-3 road defeat at Poland last season. The Lady Leopards responded in a big way in the postseason rematch, winning by 13 goals and holding the Bulldogs to their lowest output in the series. That low mark was only matched by Louisville’s 19-1 win at Poland during the regular season finale of the inaugural 2016 season.
<<< Previous 2025 | Poland All-Time Series
Lady Leopards Remain Undefeated at Home in the Postseason
Louisville improved to 4-9 all-time in tournament play with Wednesday’s win and remained perfect at home in the postseason. The Lady Leopards are now 3-0 in tournament games played at Louisville Leopards Stadium, with wins over Gilmour Academy 11-10 in 2016, Laurel School 16-7 in 2023, and now Poland Seminary 14-1 in 2026.
Louisville also owns a neutral-site postseason win over Beachwood in 2018, a 17-0 shutout played at Mount Union Stadium while turf renovations were taking place at Louisville Leopards Stadium. The Lady Leopards are now 3-8 in OHSAA Division II tournament play and 4-9 in Division II overall (counting OSLA postseason games).
<<< 2025 At Beaumont | Tournament History
UP NEXT: The Lady Leopards will next travel to Gates Mills to take on the #2 seed Hawken Hawks in the second round of the Division II, Region 6 playoffs on Tuesday, May 19. Game time is set for 6:00 PM from Walton Stadium.
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Poland at Louisville Girls Lacrosse Scoring Summary
LEOPARDS 14, BULLDOGS 1
Team 1-2-3-4–TOTAL
Poland 0-0-1-0–01
Louisville 1-4-3-6–14
1st Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Claire Genet (Abby Demos) | LHS 1, PHS 0, 10:01
2nd Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Izzy Babcock (Grace Diller) | LHS 2, PHS 0, 7:26
LOUISVILLE – Izzy Babcock (Unassisted, Rebound and Shot between 4 defenders) | LHS 3, PHS 0, 6:27
LOUISVILLE – Grace Diller (Unassisted, picked deflected pass behind goal and spun in front to score) | LHS 4, PHS 0, 5:19
LOUISVILLE – Claire Genet (Natalie Warner) | LHS 5, PHS 0, 1:56
3rd Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Izzy Babcock (Josie Butler) | LHS 6, PHS 0, 10:02
LOUISVILLE – Claire Genet (Kloey Rukavina) | LHS 7, PHS 0, 2:05
POLAND – Sofia Elia (Aurelia Cook) | LHS 7, PHS 1, 1:08
LOUISVILLE – Callie McKimmie (Izzy Babcock) | LHS 8, PHS 1, 0:18
4th Quarter
LOUISVILLE – Kloey Rukavina (Grace Diller) | LHS 9, PHS 1, 8:50
LOUISVILLE – Grace Diller (Josie Butler) | LHS 10, PHS 1, 7:25
LOUISVILLE – Izzy Babcock (Alivia Heckman – Goalkeeper passed ahead) | LHS 11, PHS 1, 4:56
LOUISVILLE – Claire Genet (Abby Demos) | LHS 12, PHS 1, 3:32
LOUISVILLE – Izzy Babcock (Unassisted – won draw and took it all the way) | LHS 13, PHS 1, 2:49
LOUISVILLE – Natalie Warner (Grace Diller) | LHS 14, PHS 1, 0:27
Records: Louisville 10-5, Poland 8-5
