SILVER SPRING — Last year, Fallston girls lacrosse broke South Carroll’s hearts.
A one-goal state quarterfinal loss is tough enough a pill to swallow. Seeing the Cougars cruise to a Class 1A state title surely didn’t help.
For 366 days, South Carroll waited for its chance at redemption. Finally, Friday at Wheaton High, one year and one day after what Cavaliers star Leah Miller called “the worst loss of my career,” it came.
“When we saw them on our schedule, we thought, ‘This is perfect. This is our redemption game,’” Miller said. “We had something a little more to play for.”
The Cavaliers certainly came out like they were on a mission. They scored the first three goals, while at the other end kept Fallston without a shot until the final minutes of the first quarter.
South Carroll’s early scoring surge was complemented by a dominance in the draw circle and a stifling defense anchored by freshman goalie Sophia DeLuca. It all added up to an 8-4 victory and the program’s first trip the state finals since it won its only title in 2019.
The Cavaliers (14-3) will play the winner of Saturday’s Middletown-Rising Sun game at a day and time to be announced at Stevenson University’s Mustang Stadium.
“There’s a lot of emotions, but right now, there’s just happiness,” South Carroll coach Brigid Scanlon said. “We worked really hard all season, we’ve been talking about it and we just really wanted to get to this point.”
“I think at the beginning of the season, this was our main goal, just to finally be like, ‘Were right there,’ it’s just so exciting,” Miller added.
With Miller leading the effort, the Cavaliers won draw after draw, keeping possession while the goals piled up. Ava Krantz scored twice in the first quarter and South Carroll built a 4-1 lead.
“It was really important, especially for our energy as a team,” Krantz said of the strong start. “That’s what I feel like has been carrying us, even though our defense is amazing and our offense is really starting to work better together. The fast start and the energy we came out with brought the momentum throughout the game.”
Scanlon said the combination of her offense scoring and her defense holding down Fallston’s dangerous attackers was a big confidence lift.
“It helped build our confidence to let the girls know, we’re here to play,” she said. “They’re a very skilled team. To hold them and have really great defense, really helped to build us.”
To hold down a team like Fallston, several factors need to converge. The first is draw controls. With Miller, a future Maryland Terrapin leading the way, South Carroll won 13 of the game’s 16 draws.
“It’s my circle girls. They make me look so good,” Miller said. “It’s still a 50-50 ball and they just go in there and grab it. Even it gets a little held up, they still come down with it.”
Those controls led to extended possessions for South Carroll, keeping Fallston from getting many chances. The biggest draw came when the Cougars tried to mount a late charge, scoring to get within four in the closing minutes. South Carroll won the ensuing draw and Fallston never got the ball again.
The other important factor is DeLuca.
The freshman collected her 100th save of the season — and her career — with her seven-save effort.
“I just think about the ball,” she said. “I don’t look at the girl because sometimes it gets in your head when you see who’s shooting or how they’re shooting, so I just focus on is the ball.”
A good portion of her saves came in the second quarter. Fallston began to slow down South Carroll’s offense and was trying to work its way back into the game. DeLuca wouldn’t let it happen.
“Sophia is dominant back there, and she’s only a freshman,” Scanlon said. “The girls trust her, which I think is huge. She listens and wants to get better every single day.”
When asked after the game how she planned to celebrate her milestone mark and the semifinal win, DeLuca said, “I’ll probably bake a cake.”
The icing on the cake might come next week when the Cavaliers play for a state championship.
While getting over the Fallston hurdle is huge, South Carroll knows it’s not at the finish line yet.
“It’s not over yet until we win the trophy,” Krantz said.
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