Two Hamilton County girls lacrosse teams faced off for the Class 2A state championship, which took place Saturday afternoon at Heritage Christian: Guerin Catholic and Carmel.
This was a dramatic game, with four goals being scored in the final 92 seconds. The Golden Eagles got the last word, as a perfect breakaway from Kassidy Bell led to a score by Mariah Ross that put Guerin Catholic ahead with 43.5 seconds left. The Golden Eagles hung on from there to claim the 2A state title, 7-6 over the Greyhounds.
Guerin Catholic finished the season undefeated at 20-0.
“Draw controls are going back and forth the entire game,” said GC coach Brian Billand. “They won those last two and then we’re lucky enough to get that last draw control, take it down and set up for a nice goal.”
The Golden Eagles were leading 6-4 before Carmel’s Sophie Mock took over, putting in two goals during a 17-second span to tie the game. On the next draw control, Bell blasted down the field and found Ross, who easily scored.
Carmel got the game’s first goal, with Anna Dunke finding the back of the net less than a minute into the contest. Caitlin Carter tied it up with 16:23 left, but Tori Tomalia scored just 50 seconds later to put the Greyhounds back in front, and they would stay in front for the remainder of the half.
Elizabeth Tomalia added a goal to make it 3-1 Carmel, and Guerin’s Clare Alic scored to cut the lead to 3-2. Both teams scored again before halftime, with Elizabeth Tomalia scoring a second goal and Ella Bellflower answering to keep the Golden Eagles within 4-3 at the break.
Alic scored the first goal of the second half, which tied things up at 4-4. It was the start of a run for Guerin Catholic, as Alexandra Soucie scored with 7:44 left, then Isabelle Aigotti put in a goal to push the Golden Eagles ahead 6-4 with 1:32 to go. The scoring frenzy followed, but Guerin Catholic was able to hang on for the win.
“It feels so great, especially to win it all against a tough team like Carmel,” said Billand. “Carmel’s been the gold standard of lacrosse in Indiana for a decade, so it was really nice to come out on top.”
“It was a great game,” said Greyhounds coach Joshua Miller. “Hats off to them. They score that really important last goal there with 40-some seconds left. They’re fast. They’re fast, they’re well-coached. They were disciplined with the ball today. And they did a heck of a job.”