This year’s lacrosse season saw three programs win their first GHSA title in program history, with the Kell Lady Longhorns, Northview Titans and Roswell Hornets earning championships. The fourth title went to a team accustomed to winning it all – the Milton Lady Eagles, who have all but one of the lacrosse state titles since the GHSA began officially acknowledging them in 2005.
Milton girls 16, Walton 13: The No. 1-ranked Lady Eagles continued their dominance in lacrosse in the AAAAAA title game, winning their fifth consecutive state title and nine in the last 10 seasons. The Lady Eagles (19-3) have not lost to a team in Georgia since 2009 and were ranked No. 21 nationally by the LaxPower National Coaches/Computer Ratings heading into Saturday's match.
“This means a lot to the girls,” Milton coach Tim Godby said. “It’s all about a mindset that no other program has as far as them knowing they have a lot to live up to from previous years and they work so hard. We had nine new starters this year.”
Brooke Winsness and Emily Velez each scored 4 goals to lead the Lady Eagles.
The No. 4-ranked Lady Raiders (15-7) kept the game close, with the score knotted at 10 with 15 minutes left before Milton pulled away with a 5-0 run in in just over seven minutes.
Kell girls 11, Westminster 10: Junior Sarah Bialecki's goal with 2 minutes remaining brought the score of the AAAAA-A title match to its final tally and gave the No. 1-ranked Lady Longhorns their first state title in program history. The Lady Longhorns finished 20-1 on the season, ending with a home win in Marietta over the defending state champions and No. 2-ranked Lady Wildcats (17-5).
“I’m extremely proud of the girls,” Lady Longhorns coach Todd Utt said. “They worked hard to finish with a state championship.”
The Lady Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the first half but never led again as the Lady Longhorns built leads of 6-3 and 8-5 to take an 8-7 lead into halftime. Leslie Ferguson scored three goals for Kell and 1 assists and Talen Francis, Haley Swift and Hannah Nemeck each scored 2 goals.
Sophomore Cabell Zakas scored five goals for the Lady Wildcats.
Northview boys 9, Lovett 8: In the AAAAA-A title game, the No. 2-ranked Titans (21-1) won their first state title in program history, completing an impressive run that saw them dethrone defending state champions Westminster in the semifinals.
Matt Biondich’s third goal with 3:37 left gave Northview a 9-7 lead they’d hold onto. Chad Johnson added 2 goals for the Titans, who also received clutch play from goalie Connor Redmond and his 15 saves.
“This was five years in the making and we’d been close before,” Titans coach Michael Ryan said. “But I don’t take any credit – I’m just a guy with the whistle who was blessed with some great kids.”
The Lions (18-4) were playing at home and gunning for their fourth state and first since 2009 in the losing effort.
Roswell 6, Lambert 5: The Hornets (17-3) won their first state title in program history, defeating the Longhorns (17-5), who were going for their third title in four seasons.
The Hornets led the entire game and kept the Longhorns at arm’s length with leads of 2-0, 5-3 at halftime and 6-4. Lambert closed the lead to 6-5 early in the third quarter but couldn’t pull closer.
Andrew Thomas led the Hornets with 2 goals.
“The team played together very well and the defense led the charge brought the championship home,” Hornets coach Alex Chrzanowski said.
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