Georgia may not be known as a lacrosse hotbed. But the varsity girls team at Milton High School has done its part to create a strong identity with the sport.
The Eagles won their sixth state title in the last seven years by beating Roswell (Ga.), 25-6, in the GHSA Class AAAAA final on May 14.
The win capped a 19-1-1 season in which Milton's only blemishes were a loss at unbeaten Florida state champ Vero Beach and a tie against Summit (N.J.).
Milton sophomore Annie Ruland.
Photo by Kent McCorkle/KentsFotos.com
Milton, ranked 14th nationally in the MaxPreps Xcellent 20 Nationally Girls Lacrosse Rankings, took control of the state title game quickly, and built a 17-6 lead at halftime.
Annie Ruland led the way for the Eagles with six goals.
Elsewhere, with the postseason now either under way or completed everywhere, many interesting stories are emerging.
The opening round of the Section 1 playoffs in New York's Hudson Valley presented Annamarie Marasco with the unusual feeling of being a stranger in her own hometown.
That's because Marasco, the head coach at Horace Greeley in Chappaqua, brought her 12th-seeded Quakers to Somers, where her four children either played or are playing lacrosse, including sophomore star JoJo Marasco of the Syracuse University men's team.
"Although it's my hometown, I felt like an outsider," she said.
Marasco's Quakers pulled out a 10-9 win after falling to the Tuskers by 13-10 to end the regular season just a few days earlier. Last season, Marasco's second as Quakers coach, Greeley fell to Somers, 14-9, in one meeting before playing to a 13-13 tie in the other. The tie was memorable on several fronts.
"Katie, my daughter (then a Somers senior and now a freshman playing at La Salle University), with only seconds on the clock intercepted the ball and then got fouled," Annamarie Marasco said. "She made the free position, and tied the game."
In Maryland, a couple of impressive winning streaks were extended. Good Counsel defeated Holy Cross (Md.), 22-3, for its eighth straight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title, and extended its WCAC win streak to 80 games.
McDonogh won its 51st straight game and third straight Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship by beating Roland Park Country School (Md.), 18-17. Mercy (Md.) won its first IAA B Conference title by beating Friends School (Md.), 13-7.
Mackenzie Moore and Julija Eshmont each had four goals as Baltimore Lutheran (Md.) wrapped up a 15-0 season and won the IAA C Conference crown by beating St. Timothy's (Md.), 14-6.
St. Stephen's and St. Agnes of Virginia was held to a season-low in goals but still managed to beat Georgetown Visitation (D.C.), 8-5, in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division 1 title game.
On Long Island in New York,
Kimberly Kolodny registered a career-high 10 goals and added one assist for top-seeded Farmingdale in a 23-4 win against eighth-seeded MacArthur in the Section 8 Class A quarterfinals.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 20 NATIONAL GIRLS LACROSSE RANKINGS1. Garden City (N.Y.), 16-0: Krista Dampman and
Alexandra Bruno each had three goals as the top-seeded Trojans turned aside No. 8 Lynbrook (N.Y.) in the Nassau County quarterfinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 1)
2. McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), 19-0: Taylor Cummings scored five goals, helping the Eagles prevail over Roland Country School (Md.) in the previously mentioned IAA A Conference title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 2)
3. Farmingdale (N.Y.), 15-1: Kelly McPartland had three goals and five assists in the previously mentioned win against MacArthur (N.Y.) in the Nassau County quarterfinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 3)
4. Vero Beach (Fla.), 22-0: The Fighting Indians wrapped up a 22-0 campaign by beating Winter Springs, 20-3, in the FHSAA championship game to extend their winning streak to 60 games. (Last week's ranking: No. 4)
5. West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.), 14-0: Katey Hart had three goals and four assists in a 20-0 win over the Rome Free Academy (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: No. 5)
6. St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 15-2: Alexis Nicolia,
Kerrin Maurer and
Anne Heagerty each scored three times in a 16-6 win over Our Lady of Mercy (N.Y.) in the CHSAA semifinals, earning the top-seeded and three-time defending champion Friars a spot in this week's final against No. 2 Sacred Heart (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: No. 6)
7. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (Alexandria, Va.), 31-2: Katie Wiseman made 13 saves in the previously mentioned victory over Georgetown Visitation (D.C.) in the VISAA Division 1 title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 7)
8. Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), 19-2: Kelly Lechner finished with 98 goals for the Falcons. (Last week's ranking: No. 8)
9. Ridgewood (N.J.), 17-1: Jess Miller had four goals and two assists in a 23-8 win over Westfield (N.J.) in the Group 4 tournament quarterfinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 9)
10. Northport (N.Y.), 14-2: The top-seeded Tigers will host No. 8 Middle Country (N.Y.) in a Section 11 Class A quarterfinal-round game this week. (Last week's ranking: No. 10)
11. Westwood (Mass.), 17-0-1: The Wolverines have scored 57 goals in their last three games. (Last week's ranking: No. 11)
12. Alta (Sandy, Utah), 20-0: The Hawks defended their state championship and extended their win streak to 48 games by beating Bingham 12-6 in the title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 12)
13. Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.), 17-2: The top-seeded Ramblers will face previously-ranked New Trier (Ill.) in this week's Evanston (Ill.) section final. (Last week's ranking: No. 13)
14. Milton (Ga.), 19-1-1: Lydia Cassada scored three goals in the first three minutes of the previously mentioned state title victory over Roswell (Ga.). (Last week's ranking: No. 14)
15. Londonderry (N.H.), 17-0: Alexa Bedell and
Jenny Thompson had four goals and one assist apiece as the Lancers extended their win streak to 51 straight by beating Manchester Central (N.H.) 17-6. (Last week's ranking: No. 16)
16. Hauppauge (N.Y.), 17-0: Jennifer Porretto had 10 points, including eight goals, as the top-seeded Eagles downed eighth-seeded Huntington (N.Y.) in the opening round of the Suffolk County playoffs. (Last week's ranking: No. 17)
17. Manhasset (N.Y.) 13-3: Ali Perez and
Kerri Fleishhacker had four goals apiece as the third-seeded Indians downed sixth-seeded Division (N.Y.) in the first round of the Nassau County playoffs. (Last week's ranking: No. 19)
18. Fox Lane (Bedford, N.Y.), 17-0: The Foxes host fourth-seeded Brewster (N.Y.) this week in the Section 1 semifinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 15)
19. Moorestown (N.J.), 18-3: The Quakers have won eight straight since falling to No. 8 Good Counsel (Md.) 15-12 in overtime. (Last week's ranking: No. 18)
20. Wilton (Conn.), 15-1: Behind
Casey Pearsall's six goals and had two assists, the Warriors downed Danbury, 15-3, in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference quarterfinals to set up a semifinal-round game this week against New Canaan (Conn.). (Last week's ranking: No. 20)
Dropped out: None
Joe Lombardi writes the "Lax with Joe" blog at LaxLessons.com and is an analyst for the MSG Varsity Television Network. He is also the primary author of the new edition of "Lacrosse for Dummies," which was released last year. He may be reached atjoe@laxlessons.com.
