A win Wednesday night set the Nation Ford Lady Falcons lacrosse team up well heading into the playoffs.
The Falcons beat the Catawba Ridge Copperheads 12-8 in the only match-up between the two teams this season.
Falcons head coach Emily Daly said she feels good about her team as they improved to 11-4 on the season.
“I feel really good about where we are at,” she said. “This was a good test heading into the playoffs.”
Playoffs for both boys’ and girls’ lacrosse start next week.
Catawba Ridge head coach Pat Gormley said having two games after spring break helped them getting ready for the playoffs as the Copperheads fell to 6-7 overall on the season.
“Playing Nation Ford at the end helps,” he said. “This was a better test for us than last year.”
Nation Ford took their time in the early stages of the game as the Copperheads were good at pressuring them.
Catherine Barhorst broke through for the Falcons about midway through the first quarter. Less than a minute later, Georgia Sharpless scored to give Nation Ford a 2-0 lead.
Barhorst and Sharpless led the Falcons offense in the quarter as Barhorst had a hat trick within the first nine minutes of the opening period.
Catawba Ridge didn’t go quietly as Lydia McCarter and Emma Fiaschetti kept the Copperheads competitive scoring their first two goals. Paige Conroy cut the Nation Ford lead to one as she scored for Catawba Ridge with 72 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Conroy tied the game at four midway through the second quarter for Catawba Ridge. Sharpless came right back 17 seconds later to give Nation Ford the lead back. The 5-4 lead for the Falcons would be the score heading into the half.
Conroy tied the game to open the second half scoring her third goal of the game about 90 seconds into the third quarter.
Nation Ford scored a minute later to regain the lead with a goal from Adria Kahre.
Catawba Ridge tied the game at six after a technical issue where the Falcons’ goalie had the ball and stepped back into the goal accidentally.
Nation Ford again regained the lead as Caitlyn Stolarek scored about a minute later for the Falcons.
Reese Maidhof added another goal for the Falcons with about 21 seconds left in the third quarter to give
Nation Ford a two-goal lead at 8-6 to end the quarter.
McCarter got her second goal of the game opening the fourth quarter for Catawba Ridge just nine seconds into play.
Sharpless and Barhorst kept the momentum in Nation Ford’s corner with back-to-back goals in the eighth and seventh minutes of the fourth quarter. Barhorst got her fifth goal of the game with about five minutes remaining.
The Copperheads kept fighting as Ember Rosowski scored cutting the Falcons’ lead to three goals.
Barhorst closed the door on things for Nation Ford with her sixth goal of the game about 73 seconds left in the game.
Barhorst is two goals from 250 for her career and Sharpless is three goals away from 100 for her career.
April 10 Roundup
The Nation Ford baseball team beat Spring Valley 10-0 in game two of their three game series to clinch the series and improve to 4-6 in Region 3-5A. Simon Fernandez, Jackson Childs and Jacob Pettit each had two hits for Nation Ford in the win. Miles Baker pitched a complete game allowing just two hits and striking out three without giving up a walk.
The Catawba Ridge baseball team beat Indian Land 4-0 to take game two and win their three-game series. The Copperheads improved to 17-2 overall and 10-1 in Region 3-4A. Owen Noonan went 2-3 with an RBI and Britton Nash went 2-3 with a two-run home run to lead the Copperheads. Peyton Dhein got the win going five innings and allowing three hits while striking out four. Bryce Meil struck out five in two innings of work.
The Fort Mill baseball team won game two of its three game series against Clover with a 7-2 final. Josh Paterson went 3-4 with two RBIs and JB Walters went 3-3 with two RBIs. Kody Romero got the win going five innings and allowing one run on three hits, while striking out six. Fort Mill improved to 12-5 overall and 8-1 in Region 3-5A.
The Fort Mill softball team beat Rock Hill 7-1 as the Jackets scored five runs in the second inning and scattered 13 hits. Reese Hill went 3-4 with two RBIs for Fort Mill as they improved to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in Region 3-5A.
The Nation Ford golf team shot a167 to come in second place in a quad match with Fort Mill, which won with a 164, Clover and Rock Hill. Justin Wosje led Nation Ford with a 39, followed by a 41 from Carter Smith and a 43 from Harrison Lapointe. Ben Wakefield finished with a 44.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
