- April 17, 2026
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Three girls walked into the Cardinal Mooney lacrosse program ahead of 2025. They were all freshmen, prepared to embark on their respective high school careers.
Months before the team's season even began, they made a collective impression on the coaching staff.
“We knew they were really good,” said coach Harvey Stuckey. “We could see that in the summer workouts.”
Gabby Ulrich, Kayleigh Bergstrom and Kaitlin Carolan constitute the trio in question. They had never suited up for the same squad before high school.
Together, they've taken the Cougars to unprecedented heights.
Cardinal Mooney girls lacrosse has 13 victories and counting, as of April 13, entering the FHSAA Class 1A-District 10 title game. That represents a single-season program record and its first winning season since 2016.
History has rarely favored the program. Entering 2026, it had never won a district championship. Only twice had it reached the regional tournament.
This year's group seeks to change that.
“We haven’t gone far in the past, but this season, we have a great group of girls,” said senior defender Ava LaMorey. “I know we’re going to do amazing things.”
Ulrich, Bergstrom and Carolan have kept them in the win column.
As freshmen, they combined for 203 points, good for 58.1% of the team's total production. Ulrich alone pitched in 125 thanks to 74 goals and 51 assists — both team-high marks.
But results were much of the same. The Cougars finished 7-10, failing to reach the district championship for the fourth time in five seasons.
Since then, Stuckey has seen the three girls learn how to complement their raw talents with an improved handle on the game at the high school level.
"They grew up," Stuckey said. "And they're starting to know the game a lot better and how to control the game a lot better. Then they have a really good team around them that's just filling in the gaps wherever they need to be."
There were losses to recover from entering 2026. Chloe Macaluso and Grace Vaughan graduated as the team's third- and fourth-leading scorers, respectively, with 73 goals combined.
Still, as Stuckey made preparations for his third year at the helm, he liked the outlook. He knew that his star sophomores were poised to return.
A season-opening four-game stretch featuring wins over Wiregrass Ranch, Sarasota and Calvary Christian — and a two-goal loss to Manatee — confirmed his suspicions.
"I knew we were going to be better. I didn't realize how much better," Stuckey said. "Until you get them out on the field, you really don't know. But after the first four games of the season, we knew we had something special here."
The Cougars won nine of their next 10 contests, starting with six straight where they outscored opponents by an average of 11.6 goals per game. The only defeat was at the hands of Bradenton Christian on March 12 by a one-goal margin.
As of April 13, the Panthers remain undefeated at 12-0, and are ranked No. 10 in the state, per the FHSAA. Cardinal Mooney sits at No. 18 in that regard.
Carolan has collected 38 goals and 20 assists — both third-most among her teammates — in her sophomore season. She leads with 98 draw controls, helping to maximize possessions and set the stage for scoring opportunities.
Alongside her, Bergstrom has been a scoring machine, and sits only seven goals shy of 100 this campaign. She ranks third in the entire state for that statistic, per MaxPreps.
Ulrich has been the ultimate scorer-facilitator. Her team-high 155 points are almost perfectly balanced — courtesy of 77 goals and 78 assists.
In her eyes, Cardinal Mooney's success has come from a collective "want" matched by no other team.
“We didn’t give up at all,” Ulrich said. “We’ve gone for everything. We want it more than anyone else, and I think we’ve proved that.”
Ulrich's prowess on the turf extends well beyond the confines of Austin Smithers Stadium. In more ways than one, there's few players quite like her in Florida.
Her 78 assists, as of April 13, are the most statewide by a margin of 21 over Spanish River's Jenna Mathews. Thanks to 155 points, Ulrich is tied with Mathews for the state lead in that department, too.
“It’s that unselfishness — that willing to look for her teammates first, and then have the ability to score if she needs to,” Stuckey said. “Not every player has that.”
Ulrich, Bergstrom and Carolan each carved their own paths to Cardinal Mooney. But they've come to know each other well over these first two seasons together.
The Cougars see a title in their future with that trio in tow. Whether that's won at the district, regional or state level, it would be a first.
"This team wants to win a championship," LaMorey said. "And that’s what we’re going to do.”
