OHSAA girls lacrosse: New Albany tops Upper Arlington for first Division I state title
Trailing a longtime nemesis by three goals with 3 minutes, 13 seconds left in the Division I girls lacrosse state final, New Albany’s Abby Cole still felt the Eagles had an edge.
“The edge we had on them was losing a state championship,” said Cole, a junior midfielder. “We’ve been in this situation before. That pushed us all the way through and to try even harder.
“Coach Elaina (Enich) always tells us to finish to the line and go 100 percent. That’s what really paid off.”
Cole’s draw controls and two goals in the final 1:46 forced overtime against Upper Arlington, and Maddy Paz’s goal off free position with 2:14 remaining in the first overtime gave the Eagles a 13-12 win and their first Division I state championship June 4 at Historic Crew Stadium.
New Albany, which finished 21-2, had been state runner-up each of the past three seasons. Two of those losses, in 2018 and 2019, came against UA, and last year’s setback was to Dublin Coffman on a last-second goal.
“I got the ball, there was a quick crash and a bunch of sticks coming. I got on the line (for the free-position shot) and my hands were shaking but I knew what I needed to do,” said Paz, a sophomore who wore a chain around her neck with 25 links, one for every member of the team. “I always dreamed of winning state. We made every second, every play, every ground ball count and that shows how quickly a game can turn around.
“We showed up in the last two minutes and overtime when it really mattered.”
Katie Kaucheck’s free-position goal with 2:19 left started the final comeback for New Albany, which had been shut out for 14:42 of the second half but also held UA off the scoreboard for 12:15.
Cole and Paz each finished with four goals and Kaucheck and Ellie McClelland added two each for the Eagles, who won their fifth title and first since 2013, when they were in Division II. Enich and UA coach Morgan Fee Maldovan were senior co-captains of that team.
The game was tied at 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 before UA went on a 4-0 run to take a 12-9 lead with three minutes to go. That was coupled with a strong stretch for Golden Bears goalie Elizabeth Goth, who made four of her seven saves in that time, mostly on close-range shots.
New Albany’s Annika Duncan made five saves as the Eagles outshot the Bears 24-20.
“Annika stood on her head. We dominated the draw control and everybody kept their composure,” Enich said. “I think our strategy went according to plan, but the girls refused to lose. Everybody peaked at the right time. We were battle-tested all year.”
Cam Callaghan’s four goals paced the Bears, who finished 22-1 and had been seeking their sixth title in seven seasons and 11th overall.
“We had some miscommunication offensively and it showed. We had a few turnovers that turned into goals on their side and when the draw controls came about, we didn’t have the ability to get it,” Fee Maldovan said. “(Goth) played phenomenal. Our defense was outstanding. I have no bad thoughts other than that it wasn’t the outcome we wanted.”
dpurpura@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekDave
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: New Albany girls lacrosse wins first Division I state title
