MILTON >> Top-seeded Belmont left no doubt who is the premier girls rugby program in the state.

The Marauders defended their state title against No. 2 Lincoln-Sudbury, winning the match 69-21. With the win, Belmont earned their seventh consecutive state title, accounting for canceled tournaments in 2020 and 2021.

Laila Lusis, Anoush McCarthy and Mira Gardner all scored two tries while Rebecca Michaud scored a try and went 6-for-8 on conversion kicks.

“Seventh (state championship in a row, which is just unbelievable,” said Belmont coach Kate McCabe on the victory. “This team felt pretty clear cut from the beginning of the season. They had had to compete so much with the seniors two years before them for any game time that they came in fully convinced, ready to go, being like this is our year and we’re going to do the job.”

Belmont jumped out to a quick lead as Lusis nabbed the first try, powering through the L-S defense. Ten minutes later, the Belmont offense unleashed a barrage, scoring four tries in five minutes to push the lead to 33-0. Lusis added her second try, along with McCarthy, Tabitha Kamazza and Rebecca Christensen in the five-minute stretch.

A Gardner try, followed by Sophie Moynihan try for Lincoln-Sudbury closed the half at 38-7 in favor of Belmont. Belmont kept rolling in the second half as Michaud nabbed an early try and conversion kick. After surrendering a second Lincoln-Sudbury try, Belmont locked in and added four more tries (including a penalty try) to finish the match at 69-21.

“It’s pretty amazing. As you go through the years, you see how the team evolves. As new people come in and people leave, you take lessons from the older people and give them to the new people,” said senior captain Robyn Tomura-MacDonald. “It means a lot, there’s a lot of people that love this program, for good reason because it’s such a great program. The coaches are so hard-working, the athletes are so hard-working … the Belmont community is just truly amazing.”