Staff photo / Dan Hiner Canfield’s Karley Gerst (10) fights through two Lake Catholic defenders to score during Thursday’s Division II district final.

CANFIELD — It was a good run for the Canfield girls lacrosse team.

The Cardinals picked up a tournament win earlier, but their postseason journey came to an end on Thursday. Canfield fell 10-4 in a Division II, Region 6 district final to Lake Catholic at Bob Dove Field.

“I’m very proud and happy with how the season went,” Canfield head coach Megan Tyson said. “The girls have come a long way. Coming from a 9-9 season last year to 12-3 essentially (in the regular season). They were a great group of girls that were willing to change and willing to work.”

Karley Gerst had three goals and an assist for Canfield, and Olivia Hash scored as well.

The Cardinals (13-4-1) fell behind 2-0 early, but Gerst scored from just in front of the net with 6:44 left in the second quarter to get the Cardinals on the board.

Claire Gibbons got that goal back for Lake Catholic over three minutes later when she cut to the face of the net and scored to the low-left corner. Lake Catholic extended the lead to 4-1 just 40 seconds later when a turnover gave Gabby Speelman an open net, and the Cougars quickly added a third straight goal after winning the ensuing faceoff.

Lake Catholic took a 5-1 lead into halftime.

“A lot can change in a few minutes,” Tyson said. “I tell my girls, ‘No matter how much time is left on the clock or in the quarter, still give it 100 percent because stuff can happen in 10 seconds that can alter the game.’ We’ve had games where there are 20 seconds on the clock and we scored the game-winning goal. Those minutes matter, and I’m very proud of how they played tonight.”

Lilly Doolan’s goal with a man-up extended the Cougars’ lead to 6-1 with 9:52 left in the third. Doolan added another 46 seconds later to make it a 7-1 game.

A couple Lake Catholic fouls gave the Cardinals a little life.

After a Cougar infraction, Gerst scored her second with 7:47 to play in the third. But Doolan countered with her third straight goal to build the LC lead back to 8-2 30 seconds later. Gerst registered a hat trick and cut the deficit to 8-3 following another Cougar foul with 5:20 remaining in the third.

But Maddie Gibbons put the game out of reach at 9-3 with 5:13 to play in the fourth after cutting to the middle of the Canfield defense for a shooting lane. And Gabby Speelman tacked on one more Cougar goal a minute later.

Hash capped the scoring with 38.3 seconds left after Gerst found her cutting in front of the net.

The Cardinals had 11 seniors on this season’s roster, most of them making up the starting lineup. They were a veteran group that helped Canfield take a step forward this spring.

“They definitely brought a sense of unity to the program,” Tyson said. “A lot of them have been playing since sixth, seventh grade, so maybe they brought an energy that the seniors haven’t been able to bring in the past. You don’t play a sport for eight years if you don’t truly have a passion for it. That showed to each other, and that showed on and off the field.”

After leaving the field one last time in 2025, the Cardinals gathered at the pavilion next to the concession stand. Getting together a final time to close the book on their year.

“At the end of the day, I think these are a great group of girls, seniors and the girls that are returning next year,” Tyson said. “I’m excited to see what we can create next year.”