On Saturday, the GHSA state champions of lacrosse will be determined after hard-fought regular seasons and postseasons. This will be the 10th season since the GHSA officially began recognizing lacrosse state champions.
On the boys side, the No. 2-ranked Northview Titans (20-1) will travel to play the No. 3 Lovett Lions (18-3) at 4 p.m. for the AAAAA-A title game. In AAAAAA, the No. 3 Roswell Hornets (16-3) will host No. 5 Lambert Longhorns (17-4) at 7 p.m.
In the AAAAA-A girls title game, the No. 1-ranked Kell Lady Longhorns (19-1) will host the No.2 Westminster Lady Wildcats (17-4) at 3 p.m. The No. 4 Walton Lady Eagles (15-6) will travel to the No. 1-ranked Milton Lady Eagles (18-3) for a 5 p.m. matchup to decide the AAAAAA title.
The Titans, the top seed from Area 3, are playing for their first state title in program history. They beat Benedictine, No. 8-ranked Allatoona and Pope to reach the final. The Lions are Area 1’s top seed and beat Riverwood, No. 5 Marist and defending state champions Westminster – the state’s No. 1 team. Lovett will play for its fourth state title and first since 2009, when it completed back-to-back championship seasons. Lovett and Northview did not play in the regular season.
The Hornets beat East Coweta, No. 6 Centennial and No. 8 Walton to reach the title game as a 2-seed from Area 2. They’ve never won a state title. The Lambert Longhorns are the lowest seed of any state finalist (along with the Walton girls) as a 3-seed from Area 3 and are seeking their third state title in four seasons, also winning in 2011 and 2012. They beat No. 10 North Gwinnett, No. 2 Harrison and top-ranked Milton to get to the finals. The Longhorns also beat the Hornets 10-9 on Mar. 12 in Roswell during the regular season.
The Kell Lady Longhorns are Area 2’s top seed, beating Lovett, No. 5 Northview and No. 8 Blessed Trinity in the tournament. Before this season, they’d never made it past the second round of the state playoffs. The Lady Wildcats are a No. 2 seed from Area 2 and beat No. 10 Holy Innocents’, No. 4 Cambridge, and St. Pius X. They’re going for a fifth consecutive state title, but Kell beat them in the regular season 14-9 at Kell on April 17.
Milton will seek its fifth consecutive state title – and ninth in the last 10 seasons – and beat Hillgrove, No. 7 West Forsyth and No. 5 Centennial as a No. 1 seed from Area 2. Milton has not lost to a Georgia team since 2009 and beat Walton 18-8 on Mar. 18. Walton is a No. 3 seed from Area 2 and beat Kennesaw Mountain, No. 8 Mill Creek and No. 2 Lassister. Walton is seeking its first state title.
