by Copley, Ohio – The Hathaway Brown Blazers defeated the Bay Rockets, 16-8, in the OHSAA Division II girls lacrosse state semifinal at Copley-Fairlawn Stadium.
Both teams came into Wednesday night’s matchup having won their third straight regional title in their respective regions. Bay was looking for back-to-back state final appearances, and Hathaway Brown their first in two years.
Hathaway Brown jumped ahead, 1-0, thanks to a goal from Faith Faremouth at the 7:37 mark of the first quarter. Just over two minutes later, Presley Napolitano doubled the margin with a goal of her own. After winning a draw, Anna Morgan scored her first goal to increase the lead to 3-0. Bay would rally to trim the margin a short time later. Junior Avery Schriner found the back of the net for the Rockets’ first goal with 4:29 left in the quarter. Senior Carlin Blondi added a goal 38 seconds later, trimming the deficit to 3-2. Anna Morgan scored her second goal with 19 seconds left, making the score 4-2 after one quarter.
Emily Morgan scored just nine seconds into the second quarter, increasing the Hathaway Brown lead to 5-2. Jill Tennant followed with a goal of her own for Bay 30 seconds later. Eliza Taigen would respond by finding the back of the net twice. Once at the 10:20 mark, increasing the Blazer lead to 6-3, and again with 8:48 left, upping the margin to 7-3. Caroline Morgan scored to make the lead 8-3 in favor of Hathaway Brown.
Bay once again rallied back, scoring two goals in 35 seconds, thanks to Gracie Fitzpatrick and Nolie Piktel. The Rockets timmed their margin to 8-5 midway through the second quarter.
Offense has been one of the strengths of the Blazers throughout this playoff run, having scored 19.5 goals per game in their four postseason contests. Caroline Morgan scored her second goal with 5:16 left, increasing the lead to 9-5. Anna Morgan found the back of the net for the third time with 2:31 left, making the score 10-5 in favor of Hathaway Brown at the half.
Layla Meaux scored three minutes into the third quarter, cutting the Rocket deficit to 10-6. Emily Morgan responded with a goal at the 7:50 mark, increasing the lead to 11-6. Less than 30 seconds later, Eliza Taigen found the back of the net for the third time, making the score 12-6.
Gracie Fitzpatrick scored for Bay, and Emily Morgan scored her third goal for Hathaway Brown, and the Blazers’ lead stood at 13-7 after three.
In the fourth quarter, Georgia Nygaard, Emily Morgan, and Anna Morgan scored, as did Avery Schroeder of Bay, for the final margin.
Hathaway Brown is making its first state championship appearance since 2023. They are looking for their first state championship since the sport was officially sanctioned by the OHSAA. They will take on Columbus DeSales on Saturday, June 8th at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
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