By Mike Waters / Contributor
The phrase “heart of a champion” is an over-used descriptor for sports teams.
However, it may well be apt when describing the Hockaday lacrosse team after Anne Case knocked in a goal just 1:16 into overtime, capping a remarkable rally by the Daisies in defeating rival Episcopal School of Dallas in the Texas Girls High School Lacrosse League state championship game at Jones Family Stadium in Dallas.
“I was in a good position to find the net,” Case said following her dramatic game-winner. “And I’m just so incredibly happy for the team. We fought hard all game and never gave up. It was a fantastic way to end the season.”
Prior to the winning goal, Hockaday led for only 1:08 in 49:16 of game action.
Sophia Fagelman gave the Daisies a quick 1-0 lead 2:53 into the game. However, ESD’s Indy Messett had the equalizer shortly thereafter with an assist from Beau McKnight before McCall Moore and Courtney Del-Cid kept the Eagles rolling with back-to-back scores, forging a 3-1 ESD advantage heading to the second period.
Both offenses heated up in the second stanza.
Hockaday’s Brooke Eckert narrowed the gap to 3-2 early on, but Del-Cid and Emmy Moss goals pushed the Eagles ahead, 5-2.
After Case scored for the Daisies, Ryleigh Ferguson and Delaney Noland recorded ESD scores that gave the Eagles the largest lead of the contest at 7-3. Eckert was able to find the net with four seconds left to give Hockaday some momentum, though, trailing 7-4 at the second intermission.
Case and Eckert continued the Hockaday comeback with goals just 57 seconds apart that brought the Daisies to within one at 7-6 at the 4:38 mark in the third period.
Then, Mother Nature struck, as a 75-minute weather delay seemed to halt the Hockaday comeback. When play resumed, Del-Cid — on a Moss assist — scored to give ESD a little breathing room.
And when McKnight scored at the 6:12 mark of the final period for an ESD 9-6 lead, it seemed Hockaday would see its state title streak come to an end.
But then the Daisies shifted into championship mode. California-Berkeley commit Thandi Chisango scored and then assisted on an Aubrey Ortega goal just 1:15 apart. Cata Littrell, the lone senior on the squad, then knotted the game at 9-9, scoring with an assist from Eckert with just 2:31 remaining in regulation. Both teams had near-misses thereafter that sent the contest into overtime.
It did not take long in the extra period for Case, with an assist from Littrell, to finish off the incredible Hockaday rally, setting off a wild celebration by the Daisies and their many fans in attendance.
“I am so very very proud of this team,” said Molly Hutchinson, Hockaday head coach. “We knew it would be a battle. And we just kept telling the players to focus and keep fighting.”
It was the sixth consecutive, and 10th overall, state crown for the Daisies.
But this run to the pinnacle was especially satisfying for Hutchinson and the 16-3 Daisies.
“We have a young team, with just one senior,” she said. “We lost 11 seniors to graduation from a year ago that were an integral part of this program. We just improved as the season wore on and peaked at the right time.”
The triumph over rival ESD avenged a pair of losses to the Eagles — in the SPC title game and also a setback during the regular season.
“We didn’t want to lose to our rivals three times in the same season,” Case said. “That also made this one so sweet.”
Eckert and Case had three goals apiece to lead a balanced Hockaday attack.
Chisanga, Ortega, Littrell and Fagelman each recorded one goal apiece, with Georgetown commit Fagelman registering 12 draw controls.
Hockaday had defeated The Woodlands, 20-9, in the regional round as Fagelman recorded five goals and 10 draw controls, with freshman Ortega adding four goals and Brown commit Eckert contributing three goals and five assists.
The Daisies advanced to the title contest with a 17-9 win over Austin Anderson, as Fagelman led with four goals and 11 draw controls, Case scoring four times, and Eckert tallying three goals and four assists.
In the title matchup, ESD (16-3) was paced by Pittsburgh signee Del-Cid with three goals. Six other ESD players recorded one goal apiece — Moss, Messett, Moore, Ferguson, Noland and McKnight.
ESD had previously defeated Houston Kinkaid, 16-5, in the semifinal, after rolling past Austin High, 21-6, in the regional.
Editor’s Note: In a prior version of this article, quotations from Hockaday lacrosse team member Anne Case were incorrectly attributed to Smith.
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