The Milton girls are one win away from extending their string of lacrosse dominance to more than a decade. The Lady Eagles (17-4), who have won five straight state titles and nine of 10 since the GHSA began sanctioning the sport, defeated Chattahoochee, 23-10, in Tuesday’s semifinal matchup.
Awaiting them in Saturday’s championship game will be a familiar foe. Walton (15-6), which lost to Milton 16-13 in last year’s title game, knocked off Lassiter, 8-5, on Tuesday to earn a spot in the finals.
Both teams compete in Area 2, but their only meeting this season came in early March – the season opener for Milton and just the third game of the year for Walton. Since then, both have enjoyed success typical of both programs.
Milton hasn’t lost a game to a Georgia opponent since the 2009 state championship game, and is averaging more than 20 goals per game in three playoff contests. Meanwhile, Walton, which slipped to No. 3 in Area 2 due to a regular season loss to Lassiter, avenged that defeat in the semifinals and have been thriving defensively down the stretch, yielding just over seven goals per game in the playoffs.
Class A-AAAAA boys: The state title game many have anticipated since the season began will come to fruition Saturday after Westminster and Lovett won their semifinal matchups on Tuesday.
Westminster (19-2) and Lovett (16-5) and held the top two spots in the state polls for much of the spring, and their first meeting – a 7-6 Westminster win – showed an evenly matched pairing.
In the postseason, Westminster is in the midst of one of the most impressive runs anywhere in the state. The Wildcats, who defeated Cambridge in the semifinals, 13-1, has outscored its playoff opponents by a combined total 44-2.
Lovett, which defeated third-ranked Allatoona, 14-10 in the semifinals, has been more tested. The Lions have faced ranked teams in all three of their postseason contests, including a 9-7 win over No. 10 Marist in the first round and 12-5 win over No. 6 Greater Atlanta Christian in the quarterfinals.
Both programs have been perennial state contenders over the last 10 years. Lovett has three state titles, the last coming in 2009, is back in the state championship game for the second straight year after falling to Northview last season. Westminster also has three state titles, winning its last in 2013 over Northview.
The state championship game will be played Saturday at Westminster.
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Playoff schedule
Class AAAAAA boys
Semifinals
Wednesday
Pope at Harrison
Etowah at Roswell
Class AAAAAA girls
State championship
Saturday
Walton at Milton
Class A-AAAAA boys
State championship
Saturday
Lovett at Westminster
Class A-AAAAA girls
Semifinals
Wednesday
Blessed Trinity at Westminster
Kell at Cambridge
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Brent Holloway can be reached via Twitter, @thebholloway.
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