‘I feel like I play better’: Winning is routine for DeSales girls lacrosse
Thursday, April 30, 2026
By Michael Rich
mrichnotwealthy@gmail.com
DeSales senior Campbell Heald, a Brown commit, leads the Stallions in both goals and assists this season. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Before every DeSales girls lacrosse game, senior Lexie Whorton can be found in the stands having her hair braided by fellow midfielder Marin Kamerick, a sophomore.
Senior attacker Campbell Heald ties her hair up in the same black scrunchie and then gets with Whorton to make a Tik-Tok video.
Coach Joe Finotti meticulously fills out his scorebook in the exact same order. Warm-ups feature the same drills and then Finotti gives his final instructions to the team. As the Stallions gather for the pre-game chant, the 15th-year coach grabs his bottle of water and takes a drink. Then, the game begins.
And while none of these things can be pointed to as reasons for DeSales’ success over the last three years, nobody wants to tempt fate. So, they do the same things that helped them win back-to-back Division II state championships.
And that routine has the Stallions as the top-ranked team in the state in Division II according to MaxPreps and second-ranked team regardless of division in LaxNumbers rankings. Their only loss came to the team ranked above them, Upper Arlington, 14-12, on March 31.
The Stallions are 13-1 overall and are champions of the Central Catholic League with a 5-0 mark. One final league meeting against Watterson is slated for May 1. The tournament draw is May 6.
DeSales senior Caroline Cross. a Butler signee, looks to pass during the Stallions’ game at Watterson on April 23. Photo: Kevin Rouch
“My freshman year, the first time I wore a black scrunchie, I had a really good game,” said Heald, a Brown University signee. “And then I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to do it for every game from now on. I’m a very routine-oriented person. If I have a routine, I feel like I’m in control and then I feel like I play better.”
Heald, who was first-team all-state and all-region in each of the past two seasons, has 60 goals and 61 assists to lead the Stallions in both categories. It’s safe to say the routine has worked out quite well.
Heald is one of four seniors that are committed to play Division I collegiately. Anna Bogan, a midfielder, is slated to play at Clemson and attacker Caroline Cross at Butler. Both were first-team all-state last year and Bogan was second-team all-Ohio as a sophomore.
Junior attacker Mary-Claire Willison is also a Butler commit and junior defender Giada Valentine is committed to play at Florida Southern.
Whorton is signed to play at Cincinnati despite missing most of the last two seasons because of knee injuries. She tore her right ACL early in her sophomore season and then her left ACL and meniscus just before the start of her junior year.
“Right now, playing on the field, it feels good,” she said. “I trust all the girls with me, both in the game and in practice. They have my back. The thought of it is still in the back of my mind as I play, but I try to forget about it and try not to play scared at all.”
Whorton starts every game day with a trip to Starbucks.
“I get a strawberry acai (refresher) with light lemonade and no strawberry inclusions. I don’t like the little dry strawberries that they put in it. They just get soggy and then it kind of ruins the whole vibe of the drink,” Whorton said. “I think I do it because it puts me in a better mood. It gets me ready for the day. It makes me happy.”
DeSales senior Anna Bogan (9). who will play at Clemson, works for position against Watterson junior Josephine Peddicord during their game at Watterson on April 23. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Heald orders the same thing when the team visits Panera before every road game.
“I get a half-sandwich of the bacon BLT, but I get it with no tomato,” she said. “And then I get the green smoothie.”
It’s been the same order since her freshman year, but it was almost put in peril.
“I used to get the strawberry smoothie, but most places don’t have it now,” Heald said. “I kind of freaked out (the first time they didn’t have it). Then, I ordered the green smoothie and everything was fine.”
Most of these can be called, ‘routines,’ but Finotti has one that is most definitely a superstition. He will not use the words, ‘state championship’ when describing the team’s goals for the season.
“It’s kind of an unwritten rule,” Heald said. “We don’t really talk about it.”
He will not mention to his players that no other DeSales program has ever won three state championships in a row.
Instead, Finotti has a different way to describe the goal.
“We don’t want to end the season in a loss,” he said.
Finotti recognizes his idiosyncrasies, though he’s not a fan of calling them superstitions. They began when DeSales won its first state title in 2016. But they were born out of his 24-year career in the Air Force.
DeSales head coach, Joe Finotti, talks to his players during the Stallions’ game at Watterson on April 23. Photo: Kevin Rouch
“I would almost say they’re routines more than superstitions,” Finotti said. “I spent 24 years on active duty – standardization and routine became a way of life. It carried over into my coaching career. I’m a big believer in standardization (and) routines.
“(When) we were in a position to win our first state championship, I was like, ‘Whatever we’re doing is working. I don’t want to change any of our routines.’ I don’t want to be the person that changes something up and then it affects our routine and gets in the way of achieving our goals.”
The routines are working. The Stallions have outscored opponents 251-88 this season with only three of their games decided by six goals or fewer.
Heald is one of six players that have scored more than 22 goals this season along with Willison (38), Anna Bogan (29), Cross (29), freshman attacker Lillie Bogan (28) and sophomore midfielder Cortney Kelley (22).
Cross also has 16 assists and 47 draw controls, Kelly has 47 draw controls and 13 caused turnovers, Anna Bogan leads with 53 draw controls, Lillie Bogan has 20 assists and sophomore goalie Mackenzie Kitchen has saved 43% of shots on goal.
Whorton admitted there might be something to not declaring the end goal out loud.
“I don’t think he wants to jinx it,” Whorton said. “But I think we all know that’s what he wants and that’s what we all want.”
DeSales junior Mary-Claire Willison, a Butler commit, works close to the goal during the Stallions’ win at Watterson on April 23. Photo: Kevin Rouch