May 15
Lady Falcons State Championship Hopes Dashed By Apex Cougars, 5-13

The Lady Falcons faced the Apex Cougars feeling hopeful that just maybe, if they did their best, they had a chance to take back the state championship from Apex. And for the first half of the game, it looked like they just might do it. Apex scored the first two goals, but the Lady Falcons answered back. Brittany Ruppert scored on a penalty shot, then Lauren "Coz" Cosentino, receiving a pass from Ruppert behind the cage, slammed the next point in. Apex scored the last point of the half on a fast break. The defensive team of Ali Brown, Jenna Lang, Christina Demetros and Mandy Blackburn frustrated the Lady Cougars from scoring more than that. Blackburn, Casey Reiser and Deirdre O'Connor forced turnovers and drew fouls, and goalie extraordinaire Katie Worsdale warded off shots left and right, channeling The Force. The first half ended in the unusually low score of 2-3.

The defense kept the pressure on at the beginning of the second half, causing an Apex scoring drought for four full minutes. But draw control (or lack of) haunted the Falcons for the rest of the game. A series of fast breaks from the draw put 4 quick points into the Falcon nest. The Falcon fans went wild nonetheless, giving the Lady Falcons some much needed encouragement. "GREEN!" "HOPE!" they chanted, as placards were raised in the stands (the men were G-R-E-E-N; the women had H-O-P-E). The huge crowd (bigger turn-out than for ACC tournaments, reports Middle Creek coach and Falcon alumna Ashley Ruppert) alternatively cheered and groaned with deafening volume at every play, even as the rain started falling all around them.

On a pass from Blackburn, O'Connor lobbed the next one in over the Apex goalie's head. Worsdale got the fans going on a spectacular save attempt, just to have the rebound hit the back of the net. Coz once again wowed the crowd when she slammed in the next penalty point just two steps in. Apex responded with their own penalty point. A foul was called after the shot, and in penalty procedure rarely seen, the Cougars were given the ball at the 50 in place of a draw. They successfully converted the advantage into their next point. Later when O'Connor was pushed, she ran to the crease and made the next penalty point. But this time, an after-point foul was called in favor of the Falcons. Ruppert was given the ball at the 50. She dodged and ducked her way to the crease just to have her shot denied. Apex slammed in the next two points on penalty. After keeping the Cougars at bay for several minutes with great defensive moves and amazing saves by Worsdale, the Cougars had the last word with a final point at 29.3 seconds left in the game.

Contributed by Ri-Shea Schlitter

Photos contributed by Scott Brown