Lowcountry Lacrosse Powers Dominate SC State Finals Weekend

Lucy Beckham, Oceanside Collegiate extend title runs behind standout performances.

The Spartanburg girls' lacrosse team celebrate their first state title. | Thomas Grant Jr.

Only 7.4 miles separate Lucy Beckham and Oceanside Collegiate Academy in the Charleston County town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

While competing in separate classifications, the two South Carolina Lowcountry schools share a passion and commitment to excellence in the sport of lacrosse.

This past weekend at Irmo High School, they continued their dominance in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions. It started Friday with the Lady Bengals needing a six-goal performance from junior Emily Butler to defeat Fort Mill in the Class 5A Division II final.

On Saturday, the Lady Landsharks beat another Lowcountry rival, Bishop England 13-8 for the second straight year in the Class 4A title match. It was also their third championship in the last four years

Afterwards, Oceanside Collegiate Academy head coach Ashley McCulloch made the following declaration about her team that went undefeated this season against Palmetto State teams.

“We play a really tough schedule,” she said. “A lot of out-of-state teams. In South Carolina, we're the best team and every day, we wanted to go out and prove it."

CLASS 5A DIVISION II: Lucy Beckham Goes Back-to-Back

Lucy Beckham 9, Fort Mill 8

Scoring is not the only area where Emily Butler leads Lucy Beckham.

Class 5A Division II champion Lucy Beckham | Thomas Grant Jr.

During practice, the junior midfielder displayed a potent throwing motion.

“Yesterday we did longest throw competition and I made the longest throw,” she said.

“I know it sounds silly, but we were working on long passes and who can throw it the longest,” Lucy Beckham head coach Vanessa Woodsworth said. “Who could dribble it the longest and hers were significantly always the longest.”

Momentum-Shifting Goal

Having achieved a ‘hat trick’ in the first two quarters against Fort Mill, Butler had an opportunity to prove her arm strength again. After catching the pass from senior teammate Reese Martin, Butler took a couple of steps towards the 32-yard line.

She then planted herself and heaved the ball downfield in the direction of the Lady Yellow Jackets’ goal. As the ball landed around the 12-yard line, it bounced well over the reach of approaching goalkeeper Ava Disher.

Once past Disher, the ball sailed into an uncovered net for an improbable goal. It was Butler’s fourth goal of the game and gave Lucy Beckham a 7-2 halftime advantage.

“I really thought there were two seconds left,” Butler said. “So, I chucked it and it went in.”

“I think she thought she had less time than she did,” Woodsworth said. “So, we’re kind of like when threw it, we were like ‘Oh no!’ and then it went in. And that was the momentum we needed going into halftime. It was fun.”

Closing Out the Title

As Fort Mill opened the second half with four straight goals, Butler kept the Lady Bengals on top. She ended the Lady Yellow Jackets’ run with a goal between two defenders to make it 8-6.

After a spinning score by Molly Bennett brought Fort Mill within a point again, Butler converted a free shot for her final goal with 8:47 left.

Ceci Shia answered with 10-foot shot 10 seconds later for her third goal of the final. She had an opportunity to tie with 4:01 left on a free position shot, but was blocked by Lucy Beckham goalkeeper Molly Derrickson.

Another Derrickson block enabled Lucy Beckham to run out the final seconds.

“It feels like we’re here. We’ve arrived,” said Woodsworth about a second straight title. “I thought last year people kind of underestimated us and maybe, it was just like a one-off year. Yeah, but to be able to do it back-to-back proves that we’re here. We’re here to stay and if you want a state championship, you have to go through us and that’s kind of our goal now.”

CLASS 4A: Oceanside Stays on Top

Oceanside Collegiate Academy 13, Bishop England 8

Playing for a state title was a new experience for freshman Reagan Bowers.

Class 4A champion Oceanside Collegiate Academy | Thomas Grant Jr.

Freshmen Deliver in Title Game

Facing archrival Bishop England, however, was a different matter. In the 12-11 win over the Lady Bishops on March 10, Bowers accounted for two goals and two assists.

Before the game, Landsharks’ head coach Ashley McCulloch was concerned with how some of the young players would handle their first title game appearance, It did not take long for Bowers and fellow freshman Reed Franklin to allay those worries with early goals to put Oceanside Collegiate Academy up 2-0.

The lead grew to 5-2 in the second quarter when Gracie Seymour and Revi Hawkins scored within two minutes of each other. Oceanside Collegiate Academy then responded with two goals in the final 23 seconds.

Inside passes set up the goals by AvaGrace Carlow and Bowers to put the Lady Landsharks a 7-4 advantage. Oceanside Collegiate was not threatened the rest of the way as it outscored Bishop England 6-2 in the second half.

“This is something like surreal, but I think our team really came together because this is our rival,” Bowers said. “They’re local and we just really had to play together and play for each other left and right of us and not for ourselves. We’re a really close team, so it’s very exciting.”

CLASS 5A DIVISION I: Spartanburg Wins Defensive Battle

Spartanburg 8, Lexington 4

With no teams with Lowcountry connections, this was the anomaly matchup at the girls’ lacrosse finals.

Class 5A Division I champion Spartanburg | Thomas Grant Jr.

The Lady Vikings and Lady Wildcats did have a recent history with each other. Last year, Lexington rode the strong goaltending of Emersin Clamp to a victory over Spartanburg in the Class 5A Division I final.

The Lady Vikings opened the season Feb. 27 getting a semblance of revenge at home in a 17-10 victory over the Lady Wildcats. It was the second straight loss on the season for Lexington, the other coming to Bishop England.

On Saturday, the “rubber match” took place with the Lady Wildcats looking to defend their title and a 15-game winning streak. Spartanburg looked to claim its first-ever championship and extend a 12-game winning streak.

“I think we were definitely motivated because we were playing the same team we lost to and I think that just propelled us through the game,” senior Addie Usry said. “Playing them at the beginning of the year, we tried to forget about that because we both grew so much.”

Defense Decides the Title

It was an evenly-played low-scoring contest through the first 2 ½ quarters. The two teams each played cautiously on offense as their physical defense prevented scoring opportunities close to the net.

A goal by McKenna Bowen with 8:55 left in the third quarter put Lexington up 3-2. It was their only lead of the contest as Spartanburg stormed in front with five unanswered goals.

Lexington scored the final two goals of the game. However, Spartanburg’s suffocating defense accomplished what head coach Aubrie Lauderdale-Clarke has seen all season.

“Our defense all year has allowed less than four goals a game and that’s what we needed from them today and they did that,” she said. “We matched all of that pressure and gave it right back to them and you’ve got to love a score like that 8-4 where it’s a defensive battle.”

Usry, who had two third quarter goals, revealed the team focused on pressuring the ball and cutting off scoring opportunities in the middle of the field. She credited their “insane” effort to the young juniors and sophomores who push the team every day in that area.