OHSAA girls lacrosse: New Albany, Upper Arlington capture Division I regional titles
At the time, it seemed like an innocuous three-goal run. Katie Kaucheck highlighted the stretch with a goal and an assist in the final 1 minute, 6 seconds of the first half, helping the New Albany girls lacrosse team create a six-goal lead.
It turns out the Eagles, who led by as many as nine goals in the second half, needed those three goals, as they held off visiting Olentangy Liberty 14-11 in the Division I, Region 1 final May 25.
“I think at the end of the half, we had all the momentum,” said New Albany coach Elaina Enich, whose team improved to 19-2. “Really, what it comes down to at the end of the day is just having fun with each other and being out there playing loose and free. With those quick goals at the end (of the first half), that’s what they were doing. That was the difference.”
Kaucheck finished with five goals and two assists to lead the top-seeded Eagles, who advanced to their sixth consecutive state tournament and 13th overall.
“They were pressuring out and we were able to get it passed them,” Kaucheck said of the flurry at the end of the first half. “I think we really kept our composure.”
Ellie McClelland had three goals, an assist and six draw controls for New Albany, which will play in a state semifinal May 31 at a neutral site.
New Albany outscored second-seeded Liberty, which finished 14-5, 11-2 for the more than 30 minutes of game action bridging the first and second halves.
But the Patriots, who made their first regional final since 2018, made a change on the draw with Brenna Heffernan and it created a spark. Liberty scored five goals in a span of 3:13 to pull within the final margin.
Heffernan won one last draw, but Lexi Bird’s shot missed wide and the Eagles ran out the clock.
Makena Harrington and Isabelle Pohmer scored two goals apiece during the rally. Harrington led the Patriots with four goals and Bird had three goals and an assist.
Liberty and New Albany have met four times over the last two seasons with the Eagles winning all four by a combined eight goals, including 10-9 on May 10.
“(We had) too much to overcome,” Liberty coach Tim Bosco said. “I’m proud of the fight (and) that’s what I told them. (New Albany is) a good team, though. We knew that.”
—Michael Rich
Upper Arlington 17, Dublin Coffman 7
Camryn Callaghan’s seven goals, four of which came in a 10-minute span of the second half to blow open a close game, led the host and top-seeded Golden Bears past the second-seeded and defending state champion Shamrocks in the Division I, Region 3 final.
Rian Adkins added three goals and Callaghan contributed two assists for UA, which improved to 21-0 and will play in a state semifinal May 31 at a neutral site. Liz Schumacher, Lilly Stelzer and Kampbell Stone also scored two goals apiece.
The Bears avenged an 11-9 loss to Coffman in last year’s regional final, which denied them a chance at their sixth consecutive state championship.
The Shamrocks led 2-0 early before UA scored the next nine goals. Coffman got within 10-7 on a Quinn Hammond penalty shot with 18:03 left, but the Bears scored the game’s final seven goals.
Kate Tyack’s four goals and two from Bailey Morris led the Shamrocks, who finished 15-6.
—Dave Purpura
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: New Albany, Upper Arlington win regional girls lacrosse titles
