COLUMBIA – An unanswered run of four goals by the Lucy Beckham Bengals in the third quarter helped to lead them to beating the Nation Ford Falcons in the 5A Division 2 boys state lacrosse championship.
Nation Ford fell 14-5 to the Bengals at Hawkins Stadium on the campus of Irmo High School, losing in the state finals for the second consecutive season. It was the fourth consecutive state championship match appearance for the Falcons. They won the state title in 2023.
“Our game plan worked early on,” said Nation Ford head coach Cory Turner. “Eventually they kept just knocking us down. I am proud of these guys. They are a good group of kids. Four years in a row is a heck of a run. Some kids will give anything to taste this once. Those guys got here four times and to win one at that.”
Both teams tried to establish their offense early and were aggressive from the opening whistle.
Josh Ameo put the Falcons on the board first with a goal about three minutes into the match.
After the initial goal by Ameo, neither team was able to pull away. The Falcons defense held strong; however, the Bengals finally broke through scoring with three minutes remaining in the first quarter to tie the match. They took the lead about a minute later to make it 2-1.
Nation Ford tied the match with a goal from Chase Murray with 13 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Lucy Beckham opened the second quarter with a goal just 48 seconds from the whistle.
On offense, the Falcons tried to be patient, but several of their shots were just off. The match became an offensive struggle for both sides as scoring was at a minimum. Trevor Keaton tied the match at three for Nation Ford with less than 5:30 left in the first half.
The Bengals added another goal before the half with about 76 seconds remaining in the half as Lucy Beckham went into the half leading 4-3.
Lucy Beckham wasted no time in the second half extending their lead with a goal 53 second into the third quarter. The Bengals continued to control possession and in doing so kept scoring as they took their time on offense to milk the clock. Lucy Beckham scored their third consecutive goal in five minutes to start the third quarter and went up 7-3.
The Bengals would enter the fourth quarter up 8-3 and continued to put their foot on the gas scoring a little more than two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Ameo stopped the bleeding some for Nation Ford with his second goal at the 7:30 mark to make it 9-4. Ameo then secured a hat trick with his second goal in 25 seconds cutting even more into the Bengals lead. The third goal was the last one for his career as he ends his season with 75 goals and his career with a state record 276 goals.
That surge by Nation Ford didn’t last as Lucy Beckham regrouped with five goals in the final seven minutes to blow the match open.
The Falcons finished the season at 11-8.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
