MAGNOLIA — Sean Brown scored five goals and Josh Logan added four more to lead Dallas Episcopal School to its first total of six since 2019 with a 12-10 win over The Woodlands on Sunday afternoon at Magnolia High School. He won the championship for the first time. school.
Brown, who was named the state tournament MVP, gave credit to his teammates. “We grew up together,” Brown said. “This is super special. It wasn't pretty at times, but we did it. We all really wanted it.”
Brown, who signed with Virginia, scored two goals in the first quarter and added two more in the second. Brown's score with 5:42 left before halftime gave the Eagles a 5-3 lead. Then, as The Woodlands established a 5-on-5 stalemate, Brown answered with a laser shot with 1:23 left in the second quarter to regain the advantage. Less than a minute later, Logan, who had scored in the first period, scored on a deft shot from the back of the net with 25 seconds left at intermission with the Eagles leading 7-5.
Hunt-Sands, a High Point (N.C.) signee, scored two goals in the third quarter with assists from Logan and Brown, and Brown hit his fifth with 2:31 left in the third period, making ESD 10-7. It became. Leading into the final 12 minute quarter.
Logan, who was named Offensive Player of the Year, scored two goals in the fourth period to offset The Woodlands' three goals as the Eagles celebrated their victory.
“We earned it,” coach Jay Sotron exulted. “It feels good. There were a lot of special moments this season and this is a great way to end a great season.”
“I told the players before the game that I would be proud of them no matter what happened. And they responded. All the hard work paid off.”
Fourth-seeded ESD advanced to title contention with a thrilling 8-6 victory over rival, top-seeded and reigning state champion Highland Park Scotts in Saturday's semifinals. Against Highland Park, Hunt-Sands scored three goals and five players each added one point. Leading 6-5 entering the final period, the Suns scored the tying goal with 9:47 remaining, and Logan scored the go-ahead goal at 8:11, which proved to be the winning goal. Jackson Pennington scored with 37 seconds left to seal the victory and send ESD to the championship game. ESD held Highland Park's powerful offense scoreless in the first and fourth periods.
Harris Sands, a cousin of ESD's Hunt Sands, led Highland Park with three goals and finished the season with a 16-4 record.
Third-year goaltender Connor Kowalewski played the full game against Highland Park, unlike Sotron's method of alternating goaltender halves, with sophomore Xander Monteiro typically playing Kowalewski. He shares the roles of skier and goalkeeper. “We told both goalies that if one of us has a hot hand, we’re going to stick with that hand,” Sotron said. “And I thought Connor set the tone for us against Highland Park. Overall, we didn't have our best game against our rival, but our defense saved us.”
Kowalewski again played a full game in the championship battle against The Woodlands. “Great job by everyone,” Kowalewski said. “I was really happy to be a part of that. Before the semifinals, my coach told me that if one of us had a hot hand, we would keep playing that hand throughout the match. It was great to get through. I was happy.”
Eagles senior TJ Gatchell, who signed with the University of Tampa, was named the tournament's Defensive Player of the Year.
ESD prepared for the playoffs by defeating Highland Park 7-6 just over two weeks ago. ESD took a 7-4 lead into the game and held on for victory, avenging an 11-10 loss to Scotland in the state semifinals a year ago that propelled Scotland to the state title.
The Eagles defeated Jesuit 13-10 in the super regional to advance to the state tournament.
The Woodlands (12-4) defeated second-seeded Austin Westlake (17-2) 12-11 in the semifinals, ending Westlake's winning streak at 14. It was the second straight year The Woodlands defeated Westlake in the state semifinals, winning a 13-10 decision in 2023, but losing to Highland Park 14-10 in the championship game.
class B
The top-seeded Highland Park “B” team lost to San Antonio TMI Episcopal 9-7.
Highland Park 'B' (17-3-1) had three goals from Connor McCutchan and two goals each from Jackson McGinley and Colton Heinlen.
Two playoff wins, 13-4 over Austin Anderson and 8-4 over San Antonio Alamo Heights, advanced the Scots to the state tournament, where they defeated Lovejoy 9-8 to advance to the title match.
It was the first time in program history that two Highland Park teams were No. 1 seeds in the THSLL playoffs.
Second-seeded TMI-Episcopal (19-2) won 13 straight games to earn its first boys lacrosse state title.
class C
Plano defeated Green Hill 15-7 to win its 10th straight and win the state championship. Plano won the playoffs 20-3, 17-4 and advanced to the title game.
class D
Hebron, which won its 11th straight game, doubled over Tomball Concordia Lutheran 16-8. Hebron defeated Houston Emery/Weiner 15-7 in the semifinals.
Class A
Houston Kincaid defeated Austin Vandegrift 10-5.
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