Late goal crushes Chapin girls’ bid for another trip to lacrosse finals
The Chapin High School girls lacrosse team was one step away from something that was taken away from them last year.
The Eagles won the last Class 5A state title in 2019. But when high school sports were halted last year in March 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, Chapin needed to wait a year to defend that title. Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen.
Wando came to Cecil Woolbright Field on Monday night and defeated the Eagles 9-8 to advance to Friday’s state title game at 4 p.m. at Irmo.
“One thing I admire about these girls is their drive, motivation and the ability to lift each other up. The group of seniors and leadership we have on this team is just insane,” Chapin coach Raven Thomas said.
“We came out strong and we came out fighting (and) at the end, it was a battle between two great teams. It’s not who wanted it more. Both teams were battling; they just ended up getting the last goal.”
That game-winning goal came with 3:14 remaining off the stick of Kelsey Bennett. The Warriors (10-1) had stretched a tied game at the half to a 7-4 lead with 16:42 remaining. But Chapin rallied behind a goal from Riley Floyd and two goals by Grace McClure to tie it at 7 with 6:06 remaining.
Chrissy Mallon gave the Warriors the lead back, but McClure tied it with her third goal of the second half. That set the stage for Bennett to score the decisive goal.
It put Wando (10-1) in the finals for the first time since 2017. It’s the first time in a state championship for first-year coach Ed Reckdenwald, who moved from Charlotte to take over the program.
“They ran out of time, I guess. It was very competitive. It was two highly skilled and well-coached teams,” Reckdenwald said. “We came together, took advantage of what we could, and we ended up one (goal) better. That’s what you expect in a playoff game.”
Reckdenwald thought the way his team responded after Chapin (14-2) had charged back to tie it in the second half was the difference.
“I told them to settle back in and play what we call Wando lacrosse,” he said. “We wanted to do what we do well and force them to beat us and not beat ourselves.”
In the boys Class 5A semifinal, Wando defeated Lexington, 26-3, to advance to Friday night’s state championship. Wando will face J.L. Mann at 7:30 p.m. at Irmo.
Goals: W - Kelsey Bennett 3, Maggie Parkin 3, Katie Fasanaro, Paige Leonard, Chrissy Mallon. C - Riley Floyd 6, Grace McClure 3, Regan Finn, Jules Brown.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 9:47 PM.