Westminster boys, girls win state lacrosse titles
It was quite a day on the Westminster campus Saturday. The school held its graduation ceremonies in the morning and won a pair of lacrosse championships in the afternoon.
The Westminster boys took a 10-9 win over rival Lovett, while the Westminster girls had an easier time win a 22-9 victory over previously unbeaten West Forsyth in the Class A-AAAA title games.
"It is a pretty good day to be a Wildcat," said Westminster girls coach Jay Watts.
The Westminster boys (18-4) had a 6-2 lead midway in the second period, only to have Lovett (15-6) battle back to tie the game with 5:37 remaining on a goal by Cory Palmer, who was assisted by Bo Anderson.
But Westminster captain Bennett Gillogly scored the game winner with 4:18 left, breaking across the middle and firing back to net his third goal of the game. It was a nice way to finish for Gillogly, who had two ankle surgeries a year ago.
"We had been shooting at [the goalie's] feet all day," Gillogly said. "I mixed up it up and went topside."
The victory clinched the third state championship for the Westminster boys and helped atone for last year's disappointing 9-11 season.
"This is a close bunch of guys, and at the end of the day, we just refused to lose," Gillogly said.
Coach Tony Souza, soaked from the postgame Gatorade bath, agreed. "This team has a lot of heart. They've started a lot of tradition that will be passed on. I know it sounds corny, but it really is a team mentality."
The victory was the second by Westminster over Lovett this season; the regular-season game was decided in overtime.
In addition to Gillogly's hat trick, the Wildcats got single scores from Jack Kelly, Trey Williams, Michael Thomas, Marshall Wathan, Jimbo Izlar, Chris Reagan and Shelton Collier. Lovett got two goals each from Palmer, Ken Goins and Alex Winship and single scores from Tyler Cunningham, John Cooledge and Joey Padgett.
"We played hard, but we didn't play particularly well," said Lovett coach Jim Buczek. "They made one more play than we did, and that was the difference in the game."
The Westminster girls (21-1) had too much big-game experience for West Forsyth (20-1), which hung tough until late in the first half. The Wildcats made few mistakes in the second half and continued to pour it on to win their third title.
"It was just an awesome game," said Westminster senior Mary Beth Bird, who scored a game-high five goals. "We always have trouble playing at 100 percent all game, but we did it today. The seniors graduated, the boys won the state championship ... there was just a high."
