ALPHARETTA — It took more than 34 minutes, but the scoring dam finally burst for Roswell.
The Hornets scored four goals in 4:32 of the second half — three by Mackenzie Schoen — to break open a back-and-forth game and win 10-7 in the Class AAAAA state lacrosse semifinals.
They will play host to Milton for the state championship Saturday. The Eagles defeated the Raiders 22-7 in the semifinals Tuesday.
Throughout the first 34 minutes at Alpharetta, neither team could open more than a one-goal lead, with the opponents trading blows and leads. During that stretch, there were four ties and three lead changes, as the two Area 3 rivals jockeyed for control of the game.
When Schoen got going, though, so did the Roswell offense.
Her goal at 15:48 gave Roswell the game’s first two-goal advantage. She would score two more goals within the next two minutes to finally open up the game in Roswell’s favor.
“[Schoen] made a momentum change with three goals in a row,” coach Susanne Scheer said. “We were winning all the draws in the beginning [of the second half]. As soon as that happened, our momentum shifted.”
After both teams had difficulty scoring for much of the game, Schoen said the turnaround came from her exploiting a soft spot on the Alpharetta side.
“We got the ball on transition, and it just caused the defense to play one person,” Schoen said. “So I just kind of slipped in there and got the goal.”
The second half was a big change from the first for the Hornets, who had difficulty controlling the ball and were outshot by Alpharetta.
Roswell goalie Sara Fagan was key to keeping the Hornets in it during that first half, when the Hornets could easily have gone into halftime trailing instead of tied 4-4. She finished the game with 16 saves, six of those coming on 12-foot penalty shots during the first 25 minutes, helping keep the Hornets in a game when they could have been in a big hole.
“That’s why she gets a game ball, and that’s why we chased the goalie after the game,” Scheer said. “Obviously, it comes down to her. She’s the last man standing when the ball gets shot. Especially on a one-to-one shot, I wouldn’t want to be there. She certainly does. Thank God for that.”
Fagan and the Roswell defense shut out the Raiders for the first 17:45 of the second half, before Alpharetta snuck one in after falling behind 9-4.
The Raiders made a small charge late to cut it to 10-7, but didn’t have enough time to complete the comeback.
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