COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Lucy Beckham Bengals proved too strong in the second half, pulling away from the Nation Ford Falcons for a 14-5 victory Saturday in the Class 5A Division II South Carolina boys lacrosse state championship game.
Nation Ford (13-8) jumped out to an early lead when Josh Ameo found the back of the net in the opening minutes. However, Lucy Beckham (17-3) responded quickly, tying the score at 2:51 in the first quarter. The Bengals then capitalized on a Nation Ford turnover late in the first, taking a 2-1 advantage.
The Falcons’ defense, anchored by goalie Josh Miller, held firm for much of the first half, frustrating the Lucy Beckham attack. Nation Ford’s offense moved the ball effectively at times, but struggled to convert against a stout Bengals defense. Chase Murray managed to tie the game at 2 for the Falcons.
Lucy Beckham regained the lead, going up 3-2 before Ameo connected with Trevor Keaton to knot the score again at 3 with 5:24 remaining in the second quarter. Nation Ford forced a turnover and called a timeout with 3:16 left in the half, eager to take the lead into the break. But an errant pass gave Lucy Beckham another scoring opportunity, and a Nation Ford offsides penalty led to a Bengals man-up goal, giving them a 4-3 lead at halftime.
The Bengals came out of the locker room with renewed intensity. They quickly rattled off three unanswered goals to extend their lead to 7-3. While the Nation Ford defense continued to battle, Lucy Beckham’s offense proved relentless, pushing the score to 8-3 late in the third quarter. The Falcons struggled to get shots on target.
Nation Ford switched to a man-on-man ride, forcing a Lucy Beckham timeout with 44 seconds left in the third.
The Bengals continued their scoring run in the fourth quarter, making it 9-3 with 9:30 remaining. Nation Ford earned a man-up opportunity after an offsides call, and Ameo capitalized, bringing the score to 9-4 with 7:31 left.
The Falcons won the ensuing face-off and called a timeout to strategize, but time was running out for a comeback. Ameo managed to score again, making it 9-5, but Lucy Beckham responded immediately, scoring two quick goals to extend their lead to 11-5 with 5:36 left.
Nation Ford’s defense, which had played valiantly for much of the game, could not contain the Bengals’ attack in the final minutes. Lucy Beckham added three more goals to secure the decisive 14-5 victory and the state championship.
