A.C. Flora boys lacrosse team ready for return trip to state championship

If A.C. Flora boys lacrosse wanted to make a splash in the Class 4A state semifinals against Oceanside Collegiate, it only took 14 seconds to make it happen.

Duncan Moorman scored just seconds after the opening faceoff to get the Falcons going and they never slowed down from there. Henry Gibson tallied seven goals as A.C. Flora defeated the Sharks, 18-5, on Tuesday night.

The Falcons will face perennial power Bishop England on Saturday at 3:30 pm at Irmo’s W.C. Hawkins Stadium. It’s a rematch of the 2017 state finals in which the Bishops won. That is the only other time A.C. Flora has made a championship game appearance.

“It’s a tremendous feeling,” Flora coach Mickey Purdy said. “In 2017 when we were in the state championship, we were just happy to be there, and it showed when we got out there. I loved that team, tremendous accomplishment but we were not ready, and we got hurt that day.”

“It was a great experience. Now, we are back in the game and we are ready. This team is ready.”

They can’t be much more ready than they were against Oceanside Collegiate (9-3). The teams met earlier in the season with A.C. Flora (14-2) claiming a hard-nosed 9-8 win. Purdy had a pointed message to his team as they prepared for the rematch.

“I told them in practice (Monday), don’t let this be the last practice,” Purdy said. “Let’s have another practice. That was the goal.”

After Moorman got things rolling, the Falcons led 5-0 just over six minutes into the contest. They extended the lead to 10-2 by the half but Purdy knew the Sharks would made a run in the second half.

Three goals in the opening six minutes of the third quarter brought Oceanside Collegiate within 10-5 but it was all A.C. Flora from that point. Gibson responded with a goal before the end of the period before the Falcons outscored the visitors 7-0 in the final quarter.

“We know how good Oceanside is,” Purdy said. “That score in not an indication of how good they are. We had a game plan, executed it and we able to get the momentum. This game is all about momentum and we were able to grab that momentum and keep it the whole game. We lost it there for a minute in the third quarter, but we came back hard.”

Gibson led the offensive onslaught. The senior added an assist to go with his seven goals. Senior Charlie Riley added four goals and two assists with Moorman being the top assist guy with four.

“This is all I could think about all year,” Gibson said. “This was our mission the whole time. Every practice, we came to work to get to this point. It feels so good to be here.”

A.C. Flora stats: Henry Gibson 7 goals, 1 assist; Charlie Riley 4 goals, 2 assists; Pierce Mills 2 goals, 1 assist; Duncan Moorman 2 goals, 4 assists; George Gallagher 2 goals, 1 assist; Charlie Griffin 1 goal; Wright Gibson 2 assists, Braden Smith 1 assist.

SC Championship Lacrosse Schedule

At Irmo

Friday

Class 5A Girls: Wando vs. Riverside, 4 p.m

.Class 5A Boys: JL Mann vs. Wando, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday

Class 4A Girls: Bishop England vs. Oceanside, noon

Class 4A Boys: A.C. Flora vs. Oceanside, 3:30 p.m.

This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 10:28 PM.