Cardinal Gibbons girls’ lacrosse stops Charlotte Catholic, wins third straight state title
Cardinal Gibbons added to its lacrosse legacy Friday, and cemented coach Patricia Alexander’s position among the state’s pantheon of coaches in the process, securing the school’s seventh overall and third straight state girls’ lacrosse championship with a 19-7 win over Charlotte Catholic at Willie Bradshaw Field at Durham County Memorial Stadium.
Cardinal Gibbons (20-4) led 10-3 at halftime, after Crusaders midfielder Charlotte Jackson scored five of her six goals en route to Championship MVP honors. Jackson added five assists.
“Do the little things, stay with the fundamentals, and try not to let the stage get too big,” Alexander said was her pregame message. “Make sure you don’t get too emotional inside the game — all of that while having fun.”
The Cougars’ seven goals were the fewest allowed in a final by Cardinal Gibbons among the Crusaders’ seven title campaigns. Cardinal Gibbons and Charlotte Catholic (19-8) have met in five of the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s 14 total state finals — the first in 2010. The Crusaders have won all five of the Catholic schools’ meetings — 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and this season.
The Cougars received three goals apiece from Mary Catherine Farley and Kate Daniels. Zoe Pounder scored as time expired.
“Their offense is clean. They sling that ball around, and you have to be able to see both (on and off the ball) continuously. It’s hard to do,” Charlotte Catholic coach Dee Bier said. “If you break down, then they’re going to take advantage.”
Ella Grimes netted five scores Friday for Cardinal Gibbons, which finished its five playoffs games with 103 total goals — a program best among the Crusaders’ championship seasons. The victors allowed just 21 goals in the state playoffs, also a title campaign standard, and eight or fewer in each game.
Where does this Cardinal Gibbons’ team stand in program history? Neither Alexander nor Jackson would commit to a “greatest of all-time” distinction. Rather, they acknowledged their predecessors, including Crusaders assistant coaches Jordan Lappin (Class of 2017) and Gabriella Young (Class of 2018).
Jackson and Lappin are two of Cardinal Gibbons’ championship MVPs — of which there have been eight different recipients among the Crusaders’ finals appearances (including a 2015 runner-up finish in overtime).
“I just wanted to be just as good as them one day,” Jackson said. “All of us worked well together to prove that we are one of the best teams in the country.
“We had one of the toughest schedules this year,” Jackson continued, “just to prove that North Carolina kids can play.”
Bier, then, addressed the standing of Alexander, whose seven state championships in nine seasons are nothing short of dominant.
Alexander is in rare company among the state’s all-time most successful 4A girls’ coaches, including two individuals at Raleigh Broughton where Alexander coached previously. There, Steve Spivey (tennis) led the Capitals to eight dual-team state championships in nine years from 1995-2003. Izzy Hernandez’s soccer teams claimed seven state titles in 12 years from 1992-2003.
“I am definitely putting Alexander in that group,” Bier said. “Trish Alexander is good. She knows what she’s doing, and she’s got great talent. That’s a dangerous combination.”
Cardinal Gibbons defender Taylor Alexander, having played her final high school game while donning her mom’s No. 31 jersey, got the final word this time about her coach, before they departed Willie Bradshaw Field having cemented this part of their school-sport legacy.
“I’ve done everything I can to live out that legacy,” Taylor said, “to keep it a special number, and prove that my mom and my coach were just as awesome.”
