The Florida Southern women's lacrosse team is 17-2 this season as it awaits its expected invite to the 2025 DII women's lacrosse championship on May 4. While they have a pair of prolific scorers in Giana Murphy and Abby McFerren leading the offense, the defense is one of the best in DII, allowing just 8.89 goals per game, the 16th-best mark in DII.

There's no need to adjust your streaming device or wipe off your glasses. That defense is anchored by four women who do look very similar. Meet Audrey and Brayden Cannelli (or wait, is that Brayden and Audrey), sophomore twins who have appeared in every game and started together in all but three. But wait, there's more. Julia and Isabelle Lucas also play key roles on this D, helping the Mocs win games by 6.79 goals per game, 12th-best in DII.

Maryland days

The Lucas Family The Lucas twins forming their love for lacrosse.

The story starts in Maryland, where both the Cannellis and Lucases grew up, just about an hour apart. Audrey and Brayden were raised in Annapolis, and Isabelle and Julia grew up in Marriottsville. Now, we can 100 percent confirm that the four did not cross paths on the lacrosse field; however, some believe these twins did have an encounter prior to Florida Southern. 

"My dad always claims that we played soccer against them," Julia said. "But I don't even remember I played soccer; I was so young. So, I don't know."

That mystery will always be part of their lore. Speaking of history, Audrey and Brayden played four sports growing up, almost always on the same team. They played lacrosse, soccer, track and field, and basketball. Perhaps surprisingly, it wasn't always lacrosse on the horizon. 

"Originally, I was leaning more towards soccer," Audrey confessed. "I really loved soccer. But our high school team wasn't really good at soccer, and in eighth grade, we called it quits with all the traveling [for soccer]. It was so far, and lacrosse was really close for us, and our high school team was so good that I just grew a love for that sport. I knew the recruiting process was going to be challenging, but I think the challenge is fun."

Cannelli family. The young Cannellis (Audrey, 52, and Brayden, 56) prep for an early lacrosse game.

"We definitely were deciding between soccer and lacrosse for a while," Brayden concurred. "Ultimately, we were in the highest competition for lacrosse at our high school. We were going against DI athletes from all these top schools, and it was really fun, and you just wanted to do that."

The Lucas twins started on the soccer route, but didn't enjoy it. However, they were multi-sport stars as well, excelling in cross country. "We switched and started running cross country, eighth grade year, and we were really awesome at it," Julia said. "Our girls' cross country team had three girls going DI, and me and Izzy were ahead of them in our races. We loved it, but it just wasn't as fun. There's not as much competing in that."

"I was fifth in the state for running, but I like the team sports," Isabelle said. "I like to be competitive. I like playing defense. I like to stop people. And lacrosse is definitely just more fun."

And off they went on a new adventure. 

Lakeland bound

Naturally, when college came calling, it turned out to be a package deal. It was Florida Southern that stood out among the rest. "I think a lot of colleges were looking at both of us," Audrey said. "But when we went to go visit [Florida Southern], we just loved the culture of the team because we practiced with them first. Brayden and I loved the coaches. And I know our parents really wanted us to go together, so they didn't have to go to separate games."

But it wasn't simply the coaches that benefited from recruiting the twins together; both the Cannellis and Lucases had an advantage staying together. "We're super competitive," Brayden said. "So, going to the same school, it's just pushing us to get better every single practice, every single game. That's my main reason why I wanted to go to school with her."

"Whenever I'm playing with Jules, I just feel like I'm playing with so much more intensity," Isabelle agreed. "And the competition, with what Brayden was saying, I feel like I'm being pushed to be my best lacrosse player when I'm playing with Jules. So, it was not a question of whether we would go to different schools or not."

Growing up, the Cannellis always wore 3 and 4, but they weren't available when they arrived at Florida Southern. So they chose Nos. 2 and 5, pretty much mirror images of each other... making things even more of a nightmare to figure out. "Film is pretty hard for our coach to tell us apart," Audrey said, laughing. "Jules and Izzy play more similarly, so I think they're harder to tell apart on the field than Brayden and I."

On the field

Florida Southern Athletics Julia Lucas takes the field.

Now, the four are teammates, driving this defense in hopes of capturing Florida Southern's first title since 2016. While No. 1 Tampa is an obstacle in their region, the Mocs have an advantage over the field that no other team possesses.

Double twin telepathy. 

Okay, maybe there's no such thing as telepathy, but as Brayden noted, it is a built-in chemistry from playing together for so long. "I think it's a huge advantage," Julia added. "On defense, there's so much sliding involved. When there are two sets of twins on the field, you don't even have to talk to each other. It's just boom, boom, boom — we're right there and know where we're going. I think playing together is my favorite part of lacrosse."

Florida Southern Athletics The Cannelli twins go head-to-head.

But make no mistake. While the Cannellis and Lucases have played together all these years, when they get the chance to go one-on-one in practice, that competitive spirit certainly kicks in. As Audrey was quick to point out, she and Brayden go pretty hard against each other, neither willing to give up. "Me and Jules used to do ground balls in the backyard when we were younger. I was like, someone is going to have to call an ambulance," Isabelle added jokingly (I think). 

But now the focus isn't on the Cannellis or Lucases but bringing home the trophy. "Our defense is so good and we just all have each other's backs," Audrey said. "That's been part of our team and why we're so successful."

"It's been a lot of fun," Julia added. "I think the high pressure defense that we play now is just unstoppable. And then we have Maria [Reeves, midfielder], it's just insane all over the field. I think our offense is playing with so much more chemistry — it's improved a lot from last year. We've obviously been successful so far and I think that we could definitely take down these teams in the South to move on and into [semifinals] play."

"I think lacrosse is a game of momentum and energy — and our team has so much energy," Isabelle concluded. "There'll be times where it's Brayden or Audrey who cause turnover, and then everyone's going crazy and it hypes up the rest of the team. Our sideline has so much energy and I think we feed off each other's energy and momentum really well. When we're on a high, I think we're unstoppable. And if we carry that into postseason play, no one can stop us from winning at all."