It took a long run by freshman attacker Chloe Nowakowski on the hot Bedford High School turf to end Bow’s 10-minute goal drought in the second quarter of Tuesday’s Division III state championship game.
Less than 30 seconds later, senior Talula Gregg scored St. Thomas’ ninth goal to put the third-seeded Saints back ahead by four on the top-ranked Falcons.
Bow couldn’t find any other goals in the quarter and needed to regroup if it wanted that D-III girls lacrosse title. The Falcons nearly pulled one back, but the buzzer went off before the ball went in.
No matter what the Falcons tried, it wasn’t enough to beat St. Thomas. In the end, Bow fell, 18-8.
It was the draw controls that really stuck Bow in a come-from-behind position. St. Thomas had control for most of the first half and the Falcons needed to regroup. In the first half, St. Thomas outpaced Bow on draw controls, 13-3.
“They’re fast, they’re good. They got the draw, which killed us,” Bow head coach Chris Raabe said.
Bow sophomore midfielder Keegan O’Meara (7) led the Falcons with four goals in the loss to St. Thomas for the D-III lacrosse state title on June 9, 2026. Credit: CHIP GRIFFIN / Photos by Chip 
Freshman attacker Chloe Nowakowski (22) impressed with three goals against St. Thomas in the Division III state championship Credit: CHIP GRIFFIN / Photos by Chip
No. 1 Bow had dispatched most of the competition it faced throughout the season with ease. On the path to achieving its final 16-2 record, only Hopkinton had stopped it in the regular season, but St. Thomas had come close.
The third-seeded Saints (18-2) beat a powerful Hopkinton team in the semifinals and came close to beating Bow early in the season.
The history of rivalry between the two was clear from the start.
Every draw was a hard-fought scramble. Tuesday’s championship match was hotly contested early on and not just because of the summer heat on the artificial turf. There were four yellow cards assessed in the first quarter alone, and the frame ended tied 4-4.
In that regular-season game, Bow just barely managed a quick goal in overtime to win 13-12. A month and a half later, it was anyone’s final.
This Bow group beat out expectations, by far. Coach Raabe called the squad an extremely hard-working young group — no drama.
St. Thomas also defeated Bow in last year’s semis, 17-6, and the Falcons had a clear chip on their shoulders. The championship was a rematch of the 2023 one, when Bow won by a large margin, 20-5.
Many of the seniors may remember that championship, but this time it was their turn to write their own story. St. Thomas was chasing the three-peat, and Bow was chasing its first title since 2023.
The experienced Saints came to play, and their postseason pedigree showed. The Saints continued to widen their lead with goals by senior attacker Annita Parmelee and senior midfielder Charlotte De Tolla.
St. Thomas carried the ball well and kept passing and passing to elongate possessions. Bow junior goalie Gianna Trott saved many shots in the second and third quarters.
Using her stick and positioning, Trott tried to give the Falcons extra possessions and time to turn it around. She had 17 saves on the night.
Nowakowski scored two more goals for Bow. Sophomore Keegan O’Meara accounted for four goals, and sophomore Vita Flagg scored one other.
Their opposition’s versatile attack produced an eight-goal third period that did the job to match Bow’s output.
Gregg and freshman Charlotte Kelly each scored to keep up. De Tolla scored two more to put STA ahead by nine goals, and then Holden scored another to go ahead, 17-7.
The clock started to run.
The Falcons have graduated large cohorts of seniors in the past few years, but this year only four are departing. Raabe hopes the rest of the squad can use this run as both fuel and experience moving forward.
“The fact that we’re here is just icing on the cake, but yeah, the team’s young,” Raabe said coolly. “The feeling of coming in second will help us next year.”