ELDERSBURG, Md. — This week 14 high school lacrosse teams from the Baltimore area will take the field to compete in their respective state championship games. A few are looking to stay at the pinnacle of their sport, like the girls from Liberty.
The Lions are in the 1A state final on Tuesday night. They are the No. 1 seed and two-time defending state champions. Standing between them and a third consecutive title is the same team they have faced in the deciding game over the past two seasons - No. 3 Fallston.
It has been another superb season for this collection from Carroll County. They are 15-1 and are coming off a 19-1 blowout of No. 4 Perryville in the state semifinal.
Now it is time to finish the job and cement their place as the latest Maryland high school lacrosse dynasty.
"I think it would just be amazing," said senior attacker Riley Matthiesen. "We have won two and no one can take that away from us. I think a third on top of that would be extra sweet. But, we have already had amazing accomplishments in our high school careers and I think we all know that."
"I went in the record books the other day and I saw our name there twice. Those are going to stay," added head coach Tom Brandel. "If we can get it there for a third time that’s great but one of my messages to the girls today is there is no pressure."
"We are definitely not underestimating [Fallston]. We know they are a good team. We have watched a lot of film on them. They have really good players. So, we just have to go out and play our game, focus up and just play like we have this season," said senior midfielder Jenna Evans.
Liberty and Fallston face-off on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. It is the first of eight state title games between Tuesday and Thursday. All will be held at Stevenson University.
Below is the state championshp game schedule:
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Class 1A Girls - No. 1 Liberty vs No. 3 Fallston - 4:00 p.m.
Class 1A Boys - No. 3 Perryville vs. No. 4 Fallston - 6:00 p.m.
Class 2A Boys - No. 3 Hereford vs. No. 4 Kent Island - 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Class 4A Girls - No. 6 Broadneck vs. No. 8 Dulaney - 6:00 p.m.
Class 4A Boys - No. 1 Broadneck vs. No. 2 Sherwood - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 25, 2023
Class 3A Girls - No. 1 Towson vs No. 2 Severna Park - 4:00 p.m.
Class 3A Boys - No. 2 Severna Park vs. No. 5 Mt. Hebron - 6:00 p.m.
Class 2A Girls - No. 1 Manchester Valley vs. No. 2 Middletown - 8:00 p.m.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
