The state playoffs are right around the corner for girls lacrosse teams across the state. April 18 marks the beginning of the first round for several schools in Lexington County.
Locally, Chapin is in the best position to make a run as the top team in Region IV-5A, but the top four squads will have a chance to find their own path to success.

Chapin

The Lady Eagles sit atop the region with a pristine 8-0 record against their local foes. Chapin is at 9-6 overall, most recently falling to Riverside 10-8 last week as they close their regular season against some of the better competition in the state. Their lone game over spring break against Wando on Wednesday posed a similar challenge.
Chapin has been propelled by a high-powered offense. They’ve scored as many as 22 goals in a single game and reached double figures 11 times.
Leading the way is junior Ava-Claire Collins with a staggering 66 goals to go along with 10 assists. She’s been busy all over the field, leading the team in ground balls with 48 and caused turnovers with 24. Sophomore Brooke Holmes isn’t far behind with 51 goals and nine assists on the season. Four other players sit in double figures. Senior Kaylin Antley leads in assists with 27, while also scoring 14 times.
The Lady Eagles have used a combination of juniors Dakota Cheek and Stephanie Mitchell in goal. Cheek has 76 saves on the season, while Mitchell has 25.
Chapin has run roughshod through region play, scoring at least 14 goals in each win. Lexington gave them the best game, which the Lady Eagles won 14-9.

Lexington

The Lady Wildcats are just behind Chapin in the standings, with their only losses coming against the Lady Eagles in Region IV-5A. Lexington sits with a record of 11-3 heading into the postseason. Their only remaining regular season game comes April 13 against Aiken.
Prior to that regular season finale, Lexington is on a six-game win streak. Only two of those games have been decided by three goals or fewer. Their run through the rest of the region has been competitive, highlighted by a 6-5 overtime win over Dutch Fork. Their other matchup with the Silver Foxes was an 8-5 win, while one of their matchups with River Bluff was decided by three goals at 11-8.
Lexington has been led by a balanced offense. Seven players have double digit goals, while five of those players have at least 20. Sophomore attacker Bella Adler leads with 30 goals and 12 assists, while Izzy Saville has scored 27 goals with 11 assists from the midfield. Saville also leads the team in ground balls with 38 and forced turnovers with 20. Seniors Raegan Dotterer and Mallory Coleman have been instrumental in the offense. Dotterer has 24 goals and 10 assists, while Coleman leads the team with 14 assists and 22 goals.
In goal, sophomore Emersin Clamp has locked things down with 94 saves and three shutouts.

Dutch Fork

The Silver Foxes sit in third at 4-4 in Region IV-5A and will hit the road to open the postseason. Their only region losses came to Chapin and Lexington.
Overall, they are 8-7 but have lost to some stiff competition. Their top non-conference games include a 9-7 win over 4A A.C. Flora and an 11-10 overtime loss to a strong Riverside squad.
Dutch Fork had moderately comfortable wins against River Bluff and White Knoll, the closest game being a 9-6 contest against River Bluff.
The Silver Foxes are led by junior captain Leah Corley, who has scored 47 times this season, while dishing out eight assists. Senior captain Hayden Hennessy has added 32 goals, while adding a team-high 19 assists. The midfielder also leads the team in ground balls with 67 and has forced 17 turnovers, second behind only defenseman Abby Dove. Jayzel Boyd, Eleanor Prosser and freshman Grace Tharp have each added 20-plus goals on the season.
Carolina Moran has largely locked down the net for Dutch Fork, recording 117 saves on the season.

River Bluff

The Lady Gators have locked down the final playoff spot for Region IV-5A with a sweep of White Knoll. They earned wins by scores of 16-5 and 18-3.
River Bluff enters their regular season finale against Evans on Thursday on a three-game win streak having taken down Blythewood, Heathwood Hall and Aiken, scoring at least 14 goals in each of those victories.
Junior captain Katie Westbrook has been the heart and soul of the Lady Gator offense with 65 goals, while adding another seven assists. Fellow junior captain Caroline Cresswell has added a team-high 24 assists and 22 goals of her own. She also leads the team with eight turnovers. Sophomores Bryleigh Howe and Sienna Woodley added 18 and 15 goals, respectively. Woodley also leads the team with 37 ground balls.
Molly Merritt has been the primary keeper with 48 saves, while junior Claire Eastwood has seen some time with 18 saves.

White Knoll

White Knoll is on the outside looking in after a winless run through the region. They entered their final regular season game April 11 against Mid-Carolina (before the press deadline for this week’s Chronicle) with two wins. The first came to open the season against Mid-Carolina 6-4 before beating Spring Valley two weeks ago 10-9.

Irmo

Down in 4A, Irmo is likely out of the playoff picture with a 3-12 record. They too opened the year with a win over Mid-Carolina 10-2, adding a 9-6 win over Bluffton and another 11-5 win over Mid-Carolina. They faced Aiken on Wednesday seeking a fourth victory.
The Yellowjackets are led by Abigail Davis, who has 42 goals and six assists. She also leads the team with 14 forced turnovers and is tied for the team lead with 35 ground balls. Junior captain Payton Mcneely has another 20 goals and six dimes. Mia Neuenfeldt has 35 ground balls, nine turnovers caused, 12 goals and four assists.
Senior Mckenzie Brown and Anisa Irizarry have split time in goal. Brown has 54 saves in limited action, while Irizarry has 65 saves.