Lacrosse & Soccer Championship Roundup

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LACROSSE & SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDUP

Today, we recap the lacrosse and soccer state championships. Follow tonight's baseball scores HERE and visit ScoreATL.com for more coverage.

Monday, May 20, 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDUP

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SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDUP

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LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDUP

By Craig Sager II

Walton defeated defending state champion Lambert 8-7 in an overtime thriller at Kennesaw State’s Fifth Third Bank Stadium on Saturday to win the Boys Lacrosse Class 6A-7A State Championship. Lambert, which was making its eighth finals appearance in the last nine years—and fourth-consecutive—came into the match ranked No. 4 in the Maxpreps National poll. The Longhorns opened up an early 2-0 lead, but Walton answered to close the first quarter tied 2-2 and then trailed just 4-3 at the half.

Momentum swung Walton’s way during a dominant third quarter. The Raiders found the net three times while holding Lambert scoreless in the period. Another Walton goal early in the fourth quarter grew the lead to 7-4 before Lambert stormed back.

Ohio State commit Gerard Kane scored with 5:55 left to cut it to 7-5 and then Benny O’Rourke found the net with just 51 seconds left to make it a one-goal game. With just 5.7 seconds left to play, Kane’s behind the back pass found O’Rourke in stride, and was fired into the back of the net to force overtime.

“I just felt like that was a career-defining moment for me in terms of how I handled the pressure,” said Walton head coach Griffin Spotz. “I feel like I wanted to be icy calm and incredibly positive for the boys. That is one of the things our coaches stressed all day today was our confidence and belief in ourselves. So my focus at that moment was showing the boys confidence and reminding them of the X’s and O’s that we’ve been coaching them on all week.”

Winning the faceoff war has been an advantage that Walton has had go in its favor throughout the 2019 season and winning this particular faceoff was at a premium as the teams entered the sudden-death overtime period.

“I told them that game is over now,” said Spotz. “I said ‘you don’t have to trade 50 punches with Lambert anymore. All you have to do is have one punch,’ and I told them that I knew they had one hard punch left in them and that I have 100 percent belief, like I have all game, that we are going to win. I reminded them that we are winning these faceoffs and I told them that we are going to push tempo as soon as we did.”

The Raiders’ plan to attack right away was executed brilliantly and just 18 seconds into the overtime, senior Tate Harran fired in the game-winning goal and the celebration began as Walton captured its first lacrosse state title since 2011 and second in program history. Harran finished with two goals and so did Taylor Aston and James Gerr. Nate Hardy and Maxson Santivanez also scored for the Raiders. Lambert was led by O’Rourke’s four-goals; Kane scored twice in addition to O’Donnell’s opening goal.

CLASS A-5A

In the girls Class A-5A game, Starr’s Mill defeated three-time defending state champion Blessed Trinity 11-8 to win its first-state title in school history. The Lady Panthers got off to a tremendous start and went up 7-1 with 6:27 left in the half. The lead shrunk to 8-5 at the break and the teams traded goals in the second half on three occasions before Starr’s Mill could celebrate the 11-8 victory.

Starr’s Mill was led by Ryanne King’s five goals and teammates Alyssa Angelo, Emma Grace Hepler and Ansley Wallace each scored two goals. Liberty lacrosse signee Kelly Scott led Blessed Trinity with five goals and Kaley Attaway finished with a hat-trick.

Rivals Westminster and Lovett squared off in the boys Class A-5A finals in a rematch of the Wildcats’ 9-8 overtime win against Lovett on April 5 and the result would prove to be the same with Westminster beating the Lions 9-8 in overtime to take home its sixth all-time title and second in the last three seasons.

Five different Westminster players provided the Wildcats with goals in the first half as they built a 5-3 lead. Lovett eventually climbed back, tying the game 6-6 with 4:17 left in the third quarter and going up 8-6 after Clyde Bresnahan’s fourth goal of the match with 2:27 left to play. Chance Loeffler brought Westminster back within one goal with 38.4 seconds to play and then Paul Weathington forced overtime 8-8 with just five seconds on the clock. John Izlar deposited the game-winner in overtime for his second goal of the match.

CLASS 6A-7A Girls

Appearing in their 15th-straight finals, the Milton Lady Eagles took home a state-record setting 13th lacrosse state title with a 20-7 victory over Mill Creek in Saturday’s finale. Milton jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never trailed. The Hawks brought the deficit to 3-2 with 15:42 left in the half, but Milton charged ahead and took a 12-6 lead into the break before closing out Mill Creek with an 8-1 edge in the second half.

SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDUP: FRIDAY & SATURDAY

The second set of four title games of the GHSA Soccer State Championships took place Friday at two locations – Mercer University in Macon and McEachern High School in Powder Springs – as the Class AAA boys and girls, the AAAA girls and AA boys finished their seasons.

Class AAA At McEachern

AAA Girls: Westminster 3, Lovett 1

Westminster successfully defended its AAA title for the fifth-straight year after beating rival Lovett in overtime at McEachern. The Wildcats have won 13 girls soccer titles – 1996, 1998, 2002-06, 2013, 2015-19. Westminster’s Talia Staude started scoring with 52 seconds left in the first half on a put-back on a free kick to push the Wildcats ahead. Lovett responded with a goal from freshman forward Elke Gill with 32:08 left in regulation to tie the match where it would remain at the end of regulation. Westminster controlled the pace in overtime and netted two goals to seal the victory. Tori Penn gave Westminster the 2-1 lead with a sneaky goal after she caught the Lovett goalkeeper standing. Riley Patton scored the final goal for Westminster to put the game out of reach.

AAA Boys: Westminster 4, Coahulla Creek 0

Westminster won its 14th boys soccer title while successfully defending its AAA crown for the third-straight year after defeating Coahulla Creek. The Wildcats did all the scoring in the first half and then held on for the victory. Weyimi Agbeyegbe netted a goal at 11:07 in the first half to get Westminster going. Ryan Schaufele added a goal at the 21:25 mark in first half to push the lead. Michael Johnson added a score at 25:52 and Charlie Ham tacked on a goal just two minutes later to make it a four-goal spread. The Wildcats won titles in 1966-67, 1976, 1982-83, 2001, 2006-07, 2011-13 and the past three seasons.

Class AAAA girls and AA boys At Mercer University

AAAA Girls: St. Pius 6, Flowery Branch 0

St. Pius X won its 12th girls soccer title, sixth of the last seven and nine of the last 11 championships after beating Flowery Branch in a dominant performance. The Golden Lions won their first girls soccer title in 1998, tied Marist in 2001 and then won in 2002, 2009-11, 2013-17 and this year. Pius took a 2-0 lead at the break before it unleashed an offensive flurry in the second half led by Renee Lyles. Helen Cherry put the Golden Lions up on a score at the 35:55 mark in the first half and Lyles extended the lead at 39:02 to give Pius a 2-0 lead at intermission. Clare Gornowicz pushed the lead to 3-0 on a goal with 35:42 left in the game. Lyles netted a goal with 18:30 left to push the lead and sealed her hattrick by scoring with 11:51 left in the match. Pius tacked on an insurance goal in the final minutes to put the game out of reach.

AA Boys: Thomasville 1(4), Union County 1(2)

Thomasville won its second soccer title after outscoring Union County four goals to two in penalty kicks. The Bulldogs captured their first title with an AA/A championship in 2010. In regulation, Union County took a 1-0 lead on a score from Andrew Geyer with 26:48 left before intermission. Thomasville responded with a goal from Brian Smith with 5:19 left in the first half and the teams entered the break tied. After a scoreless second half, neither team could find a goal in the 15-minute overtime period which sent the contest to penalty kicks. Thomasville connected on its first four penalty kicks while Union County was stopped twice by the Bulldog goalkeeper which sealed the victory.

Four matches at each of two locations – Mercer University in Macon and McEachern High School in Powder Springs – wrapped up the 2019 GHSA Soccer State Championships on Saturday. The class AAAAAA, AAAAAAA boys and girls finished their seasons at McEachern and the AAAAA boys and girls, AA girls and AAAA boys took to the field for their title matches at Mercer.

At McEachern

AAAAAAA girls: North Gwinnett 1 (5), Lambert 1 (4)

North Gwinnett took home its first state title in nine years and second in school history following a thrilling finish in penalties against Lambert. A back-and-forth contest produced a tie game at 0-0 as the first half ended. With just 2:26 left in the match, Lambert’s Madison Haugen crossed the ball to Faith Ferrer, setting her up for the go-ahead goal. North Gwinnett was quick to answer with a goal of its own, equalizing the game just 29 seconds later on a header from Aliah Kitchens. After 1:30 of scoreless play the game was sent into overtime where neither team could pull ahead, forcing a finish by penalties. There the Bulldogs missed the first penalty but went on to outscore the Longhorns 5-4, ending their perfect season to claim the Class AAAAAAA state title.

AAAAAAA boys: Lambert 2, Lakeside-DeKalb 1

In the state’s highest classification, the Lambert Longhorns defended their state title with a 2-1 outing against Lakeside-Dekalb. At the half, the score remained 0-0 in large part to the stellar performance by Lambert’s senior goalkeeper Chris Smith who had made several acrobatic saves. With nine minutes left in the match, Hayden Fontana shot the ball from nearly 15 yards out, but the ball was blocked by Lakeside’s goalie. Tyler Nadiak was ready for the ricochet and sent the ball through to the back of the net to put the Longhorns up 1-0. Less than a minute later, Jerod Spetseris managed to put a shot past Smith to tie the game. With just over a minute remaining, Fontana launched a shot off the post, but sophomore Yeonsung Lee was ready for the rebound and sent in the go-ahead goal. The Longhorns maintained their lead for the remainder of the match to claim their third state soccer title in school history.

AAAAAA girls: Dacula 2, Harrison 0

Dacula won its first-ever girls soccer championship after scoring two goals in the second half. The victory capped a flawless run through the bracket as the Falcons didn’t allow a single goal in the five matches. Becky Contreras, a Kennesaw State commit, gave the Falcons the lead on a score with 27:08 left in the second half. With 12:01 left in the match, Kaitlyn Portillo, a Georgia Gwinnett College commit, scored to push the lead to two goals and give Falcons their first state title. Harrison was going for its fourth soccer title.

AAAAAA boys: Dalton 4, Gainesville 1

Dalton won its fifth state championship and first since a streak of three-straight from 2013-15 after moving past Gainesville. The Catamounts took a 1-0 lead with 18 minutes left before intermission on a header goal by freshman Yahir Paez off a high-lofted set-up. Tony Saldana pushed the lead after he converted a corner kick on a header with 13 minutes left before intermission. Eight minutes later, Saldana found the net again after going unchecked on a free kick. Manny Prieto’s goal with 25:07 left in the match pushed the lead to 4-0. Gainesville got on the board on a goal from Divin Mabruki with 12:34 remaining.

At Mercer

AAAAA girls: McIntosh 7, Whitewater 0

McIntosh won its 12th girls soccer title, having taken three of the last four and six of the last eight after beating rival Whitewater. The Chiefs scored three goals in first half and then adding four in the second 45 minutes to overwhelm the Wildcats. Junior defender Katelyn Galbraith scored first just 3:38 into the first half to put McIntosh ahead to stay. Junior Morgan Yocum added a score with 11:54 left before intermission and with 4:59 left, freshman Bailey Wagenknecht netted a goal to make it 3-0 at intermission. Keara Collins scored with 39:16 left in the game to make it a four-goal advantage. Wagenknecht found the net again with 16:11 left in the match, Tariah Miller put one in with 10:54 left and then score the final goal of the game three minutes later.

AAAAA boys: McIntosh 3, Starr’s Mill 2

McIntosh won its seventh state championship after moving past local rival Starr’s Mill. Starr’s Mill senior Noah Pavel put the Panthers up 1-0 at 15:51 in the first half. The Chiefs pulled even with 16 minutes later on a score from senior defender Baba Agbaje. McIntosh took the lead into intermission on a goal from Jack Gentry at a 30:06 mark. Agbaje put the Chiefs up 3-1 on a goal with 20:20 left in the match. Starr’s Mill pulled within a goal on a score from senior Ryan Shanahan with 13:11 left but the Chiefs were able to keep the Panthers at bay in the final minutes to seal the victory. McIntosh also won the championship in 2017.

AA girls: St. Vincent’s 5, Vidalia 0

The St. Vincent’s Saints won their third consecutive Class AA soccer state title with a commanding 5-0 shutout over Vidalia. After six minutes of play, sophomore Emma Beddow’s free kick from almost 20 yards out found the back of the net to put St. Vincent’s on the board. Beddow continued to pace the field, setting up a long pass to junior Lizzie Horn who put the ball past the keeper for the Saint’s second goal of the match. In the 34th minute, Horn dished Emma Cowart the ball, setting her up to score St. Vincent’s third unanswered goal of the first half. The goals kept coming for the Saints in the second half, starting with a second goal from Beddow at the 50th minute. Horn capitalized on a pass from Beddow in the 63rd minute to increase the lead to 5-0 and end the scoring spree.

AAAA boys: Oconee County 1, Upson-Lee 0

The Oconee County soccer team solidified itself in school history as the Chiefs defeated Upson Lee 1-0 to take home their first state soccer title in school history. After 33 minutes of scoreless play, senior Owen Hallauer nearly scored the go-ahead goal but bounced the ball off the post. The deciding goal came with 26:10 left in the first half when Hallauer followed up on a few shots on goal and put through the only goal of the championship match. The Chiefs shutout performance gave Upson Lee its only loss of the season.

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