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The third annual Club National Championship is turning today's girls lacrosse players into women's lacrosse stars of tomorrow.

Three hundred twenty teams from 35 different states descended on Montgomery County late last week for hundreds of games at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds and Muldoon's Farm in Poolesville.

"People are becoming more and more comfortable with the tournament becoming a staple of summer lacrosse," said tournament director/co-founder Jenna Ries, Holy Cross' athletic director and head coach. "Teams are seeing tremendous competition and I think everyone is taking it seriously. It's been a blast to host."

County products participated on various teams, with many embracing it as an opportunity to gain exposure and showcase their skills to more than 200 college coaches in attendance.

Holy Cross rising senior Megan Taylor was one such player to take advantage of the four days of competition. The midfielder's solid play for the Maryland and District of Columbia's 2011 Red team was highlighted by a 3-goal game during Sunday's playoffs.

"I'm still working on [the college process]," said Taylor, who also plays with Good Counsel twins Maggie and Kelsey Mirkin and Katie McCartin. "This tournament was a big one for me. ... This one really showed what kind of player I am and how I play with my teammates."

Taylor said she is considering Davidson (N.C.) College, Dickinson (Pa.) College, Trinity (Conn.) College and the University of Richmond (Va.), but hopes more coaches will make contact after watching her in action.

"I think we proved ourselves [Sunday] morning," Taylor said. "Hopefully after this weekend they will e-mail me."

M&D's premier club team, the 2011 Black squad, featured some of the county's top players: Sherwood netminder K.C. Emerson (Johns Hopkins University verbal commit), Bethesda-Chevy Chase midfielder Melissa Jaskiewicz, Stone Ridge attacker/midfielder Lindy Firstenberg and Holy Child defender Sarah Falk. The Gazette's top-ranked team at spring's end, Good Counsel, was also represented by Caroline Scanlon, Caileigh Sindall (North Carolina), Brigid Smith (Duke, N.C.), Morgan Stephens (Virginia) and Kelly Lechner (Towson).

Most of the girls on the team have already verbally committed to their college of choice, but a handful of them — such a Scanlon, a defender for the Falcons — still have the recruiting process weighing on them.

"There's much more pressure on me than the girls committed," said Scanlon, who is considering Stanford (Ca.) and Brown (R.I). "I just have to give it my all because I never know who is watching. I'm sure the other girls always give it their all, but I don't know where I'll be in two years."

They advanced to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Carroll County-based Check-Hers Elite.

Rising freshman midfielder Emily Kenul, who resides in the Sherwood school district, turned heads this weekend as she played for M&D's tournament winning 2014 Black team.

Other champions included: Skywalkers Blue (2011), M&D Black (2012, 2016), Capital Blue (2013), MD United East (2015).