Three Hamilton County boys lacrosse teams have made it to the final game of the Indiana High School Lacrosse Association’s state tournament.
The IHSLA has two divisions, Class 2A and Class 1A. The Class 2A state title game will be an all-county affair, with Carmel taking on Hamilton Southeastern at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Royals’ TCU Field. Both teams advanced to the Saturday final by winning semi-final games Wednesday at their respective home fields.
The Greyhounds edged out Cathedral 8-7 at a sold-out Murray Stadium. The Irish took a 2-0 lead late in the first quarter before Kyle Fedorcha got Carmel on the board with 59 seconds left. The ‘Hounds added three goals in the second period to take a 4-3 halftime lead. Jake Klein scored twice and Matthew Rodgers had one goal.
Cathedral tied the game at 4-4 in the third quarter, but Carmel went ahead for good at the 6:18 mark when Rodgers scored. Klein then put in a goal with five seconds left in the period to give the Greyhounds a 6-4 lead. John Kenney and Fedorcha scored goals in the fourth quarter, while Carmel’s defense held off a late Irish rally.
“We got down a little bit, but then we re-focused and got back to our game plan, went back to what makes us a good lacrosse team and found what makes us successful,” said Greyhounds coach Jack Meachum. “We cleared the ball a little bit better. We found saves in the net. It was really good to see our team fight back.”
Southeastern beat Culver Academies 15-6 in the other semi-final game. The Royals were in control from the start, leading 3-0 after the first quarter and 9-2 at halftime. Stats from the game will run in a later edition.
Also on Saturday, Guerin Catholic will play the Class 1A state championship at HSE. The Golden Eagles hosted Heritage Christian Tuesday in a state semi-final game and won 14-4. Guerin Catholic will play South Bend St. Joseph for the championship; St. Joseph beat Mishawaka Marian 11-5 in the other semi-final.
GIRLS STATE FINALS START TODAY
The Indiana girls lacrosse state finals begin today at Warren Central.
The Class 2A semi-finals will be played first, with Southeastern taking on Castle in the opener at 6 p.m. That will be followed by Carmel and Cathedral in the second semi-final, which starts at 8 p.m. The winners will play in the championship game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
On Friday, the Class 1A semi-finals will take place. Westfield will play Crown Point in the 6 p.m. game, with Heritage Christian taking on Evansville Central at 8 p.m. The winners play for the 1A championship at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
