Chapin girls lacrosse one win away from fourth championship appearance

The motivation and memory for the Chapin girls lacrosse team has been there for almost a year now.

Three years ago, the Eagles won the Class 5A state title before having the 2020 season wiped out due to the COVID-19 restrictions that were in place. Last year, they felt they had the team to win it again but a one-point loss at home in the state semifinals derailed those plans.

After an 18-8 victory over region rival River Bluff on Thursday night, Chapin gets a chance to avenge that loss when it goes on the road next Monday to face that same Wando team that eliminated the Eagles last season..

The Warriors eliminated Dutch Fork on Thursday night 17-6.

“We fell short by one last year and it’s haunted us every day that we’ve been working towards that the entire season,” Chapin coach Raven Thomas said. “The girls have worked their butts off to get to this moment.”

It did not take long for the Eagles (15-3) to take control against the Gators (14-4). In the opening nine minutes, freshman Brooke Holmes scored three of her six goals, and Chapin had a 9-1 lead. The Eagles eventually settled for a 10-4 halftime lead.

“I told them we were all gas, no brakes and how we play today determines the remainder of the season for us,” Thomas said of the fast start. “We’ve worked way too hard to let it stop here. They came out full force. If they can play like that, they can beat anybody.”

That was as close as River Bluff would get though. A five-goal flurry in a little over three minutes extended the lead to 15-5 when sophomore Claire Cornelison scored her first goal of the match.

Holmes, who moved to the Chapin area from New Jersey at the beginning of the school year, felt the fast start was one of the keys.

“It was a really quick start,” Holmes said. “Especially with this team, you have to get ahead fast and get ahead of the game. If we didn’t have that lead, it would have been a much harder game in the second half.”

Now the attention turns back to Wando. The teams played on April 11 with the Warriors winning, 15-7. Since that time, the Eagles have outscored their opponents 64-22 over the past three matches.

“We can beat them,” Thomas said. “We have to make sure we play our game and don’t beat ourselves. The girls have the heart, the hustle and the intensity, and I have all the faith in our girls. They have to play their game.”

Senior Regan Finn, who leads the team with 55 goals, was on the team in 2019 when the Chapin won it all. She also remembers last year all too well.

“It’s awesome because last year we lost by one. We’re the biggest family we’ve ever been and we’re ready to come back to beat Wando and take the state title back,” Finn said.

Chapin 18, River Bluff 8

Goals: C – Brooke Holmes 6, Regan Finn 3, Jules Brown 3, Claire Cornelison 2, Lauren Budds 1, Ava-Claire Collins 1, Jesma Evans 1, Madison Lofton 1. RB – Sienna Woodley 3, Katie Westbrook 3, Elle Eastwood 2.

This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 10:47 PM.