Lacrosse: BT girls overcome five-goal deficit in A-5A finals

Kell was denied a three-peat as Blessed Trinity stunned the Longhorns after trailing by five goals to claim their first ever state title and complete an undefeated season. Kell led 10-6 at the half before momentum turned. The Longhorns were without their two First Team All-State defenders in senior Riley Proshek (Kennesaw State) and junior Ann Ryan Lanz, who received two yellow cards in the semifinals causing the GHSA to rule them ineligible for the state championship.

“With eight minutes to go, they [Blessed Trinity] just started winning a lot of the 50/50 balls and they controlled the draw and started making plays offensively,” explained Kell head coach Todd Utt. “We were struggling trying to slow them down and offensively whenever we got the ball, we made some mistakes. We tried to force things and maybe panicked a little bit I guess and the wheels just kind of fell off.”

Kell held a 13-8 lead with 12:05 to play before the Titans made their move. "I tip my hat to them for sure, they played a great game."

Blessed Trinity head coach Liz McFarland couldn’t have been prouder of her team after the come from behind win. “It truly was a team effort tonight. Everyone dug deep. They have always believed they have what it takes to be a state champion.”

Believe it or not, trailing by five goals late was a daunting task that the Titans were ready for. “We have practiced the scenario of being down several goals and knew what to do in this situation. It came down to stamina, endurance, stick skills and confidence, not to mention resiliency and a belief of never, ever giving up.”

In the loss Jennifer Buckley netted a team-high four goals and added two assists. Talen Francis assisted on five goals and scored on of her own. Katherine Gross, Izzy Palermo, Payge Pusatere and Anna Luckie all chipped in two scores.