Lexington girls, AC Flora boys earn spots in SC lacrosse championships
With a second straight trip to the state championship on the line, the Lexington girls lacrosse team found another gear against rival River Bluff.
The Wildcats scored four goals in just over a three-minute stretch in the second half as they defeated the Gators, 12-6, on Monday in the Class 5A Division I Lower State championship game.
“The girls knew what they were doing,” Lexington coach Tiffany Tortorello said. “They needed to keep their composure and play like they were supposed to play. It feels so awesome (to go back to state). I think a lot of people counted us out at the beginning because we lost a lot of upperclassmen. It feels awesome for these girls to put the work in and deserve to be there.”
The defending state champion Wildcats, who lost nine starters from last year’s team, will face Spartanburg at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Irmo High School. Spartanburg defeated JL Mann, 18-3, in the Upper State championship game. It is a rematch of last year’s championship game and second meeting of the season between the two teams.
Spartanburg defeated Lexington, 17-10, on Feb. 27 but the Wildcats haven’t lost since.
Lily Sundell scored four goals and McKenna Bowen added three for the Wildcats. Sundell, the team’s lone senior and Bowen both said there was no panic when the Gators got close in the third quarter.
River Bluff, which lost to Lexington 15-5 on March 12, trailed 6-3 at halftime but scored twice, the second by Mason Harrelson, to cut to 6-5 with 2:05 left in the quarter.
But Bowen answered 13 seconds later to put the Wildcats up 7-5. Libby Headley and Sundell added two more goals in the final 40 seconds of the third quarter to put the Wildcats up 9-5.
Bowen scored early in the fourth to make it 10-5.
“I turned to her (Bowen). She is my best friend and I didn’t want it to be our last game together. We promised each other we could make it to state,” Sundell said. “We were meant to be here and they aren’t. So, we had to put our pedal to the metal and score those goals.
“I think sometimes we lose sight of what we know we could do. We got caught up in the hype of the game, but we had to focus our minds and go out and do it.”
Peyton Hart led River Bluff with two goals. It is the second straight season the Gators lost to Lexington in the state semifinals.
“My girls showed up and gave them a really, good battle,” River Bluff coach Shannon Aikens said. “But that is a really strong side and what coach Tiff has done they should be proud. … But I am super proud of my team, and we gave a ton of heart and hustle all year. I walk away as a really proud coach.”
Boys Lacrosse
AC Flora 11, May River 6
The Falcons went on the road and defeated the Sharks to earn a spot in the Class 4A championship.
AC Flora will play Oceanside Collegiate on Saturday at Irmo High School. It is Falcons first championship appearance since 2021.
The game was tied at 4-4 in the third quarter before three straight goals by the Falcons from Memphis Garrison, Win Milliken and Julian Schumacher to make it 7-4. Bryson Gray and Kolton Bagley also had goals in the second half for AC Flora.
