Second-half flurry helps Lexington girls lacrosse to first state championship game

Lexington girls lacrosse coach Tiffany Tortorello might want to bottle up her halftime speech from Tuesday night and use it for later motivation. The message was delivered and answered by the Wildcats as they scored 13 straight goals in the second half on the way to a 19-5 victory over River Bluff in the Class 5A, Division I state semifinals.

Tortorello said the message was a simple one.

“If you want to be as good as we are, we have to show we’re as good as we are,” was what she told the players. “I said to them I didn’t think we played Lexington girls lacrosse the first half. They had to leave it out on the field and show us what Lexington girls lacrosse looked like because they hadn’t shown it yet in this game. They stepped up.”

The victory gives Lexington (16-1) its first appearance in the state championship in school history. The Wildcats will play Spartanburg on Saturday at Irmo’s W.C. Hawkins Stadium at 11 a.m. It’s the second win over River Bluff this season.

“We’re super excited,” Tortorello said. “The girls have been working hard all season for this exact moment. It’s the farthest we’ve ever been, and we don’t plan on stopping here. We plan on finishing out the season strong and showing the rest of the state what Lexington lacrosse is meant to be.”

Leading scorer Lily Sundell, who tallied six goals against the Gators on Tuesday night, said reaching this point has been the results of a lot of hard work.

“We put in so much work and spent so much time together, the offseason, and constantly working hard, so it really feels like a long time coming, and something that we deserve,” Sundell said.

The Wildcats led 6-4 at the half and the Gators had a little bit of momentum after a goal from Molly Bruzzi made it a two-goal margin at the break.

But Lexington scored 13 straight goals and seven goals in a little over five minutes to turn a close contest into a route.

And it came from the trio of Sundell, a junior, and seniors Izzy Saville and Anna Barger. Those three are the leading goal scorers, and they accounted for 15 of the 19 goals against River Bluff. Sundell now has 69 goals on the season to lead the team.

“Those three work very well together,” Totrerello said. “They have a good system and momentum together. They all know when it’s time to step up and when it’s time to share the ball. We’re a very selfless team. We have an offense that is even and pretty well spread out.”

Saville, who added five goals, said the pep talk at the half helped the Wildcats focus in the decisive second half. Barger chipped in with four goals.

“(Coach) said to play our ball. We knew we weren’t playing like ourselves in the first half” Saville said. “She told us to play Lexington ball, play fast paced and play as a team and we knew we would win.”

Defensively, goalie Emersin Clamp has allowed less than five goals per game on average and only twice this season allowed double-digit goals. The defense was nearly perfect in the second half, allowing a goal late to break the 13-goal run by Lexington.

The only blemish on the Lexington schedule came in a 17-9 loss to Oceanside Collegiate on March 13.

The Wildcats defeated Wando, Chapin and Bishop England this season, and playing that type of schedule helped in the playoff run.

“We built a stronger schedule to make sure the girls were prepared,” Tortorello said. “And I also wanted them to have the confidence in playing those big teams and seeing different levels of play.”

AC Flora, Chapin boys lose in semifinals

Ashton Stevenson’s goal with 2 minutes, 16 seconds left in overtime gave May River a 10-9 come-from-behind win in the Class 4A lacrosse playoffs.

May River advances to its first state championship and will play Oceanside Collegiate on Friday at Irmo High School.

AC Flora finishes the season at 15-4.

Palmer Mood and Sam Davies each had two goals for AC Flora, which led 5-1 after the first quarter. May River rallied and tied it at 8-8 in the fourth before Clayton Lockhart gave the Falcons a 9-8 lead with 5:48 left.

May River’s Turner Johnson tied it at 9-9 with 1:57 left.

Stevenson and Landon Kushner each had three goals for the Sharks.

Lucy Beckham defeated Chapin, 11-1, in the 5A Boys Division II semifinals. LB will play Nation Ford in the state championship on Saturday.

Chapin finishes its season at 10-8.

SCHSL Lacrosse Championships

At Irmo High School

May 2

Class 4A Girls: Oceanside Collegiate vs. Bishop England, 6 p.m.

Class 4A Boys: Oceanside Collegiate vs. May River, 25 minutes after girls game

May 3

Class 5A Division I Girls: Lexington vs. Spartanburg, 11 a.m.

Class 5A Division I Boys: Dorman vs. Wando, 25 minutes after girls game

Class 5A Division II Girls: Fort Mill vs. Lucy Beckham, 3:30 p.m.

Class 5A Division II Boys: Nation Ford vs. Lucy Beckham, 25 minutes after girls game

This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 10:07 PM.