Playoff lacrosse is underway in South Carolina with eight Lexington County teams qualifying for a shot at the state championship. 

Games were set to begin on April 16 after the Chronicle’s press deadline. The girls tournament started that night with the boys facing off the next day. The second round of games will be April 18 and 20. 

All eight will compete for a 5A championship with four boys and girls teams making the tournament. All eight teams come from the same four schools, Chapin, Lexington, River Bluff and Dutch Fork. 

Girls Preview 

Chapin enters the postseason as the hottest team in the area after an undefeated region season. The Eagles went 14-2 this year with their only losses coming against private school Bishop England and charter school Oceanside Collegiate.

The Eagles almost doubled their opponents’ point totals this season, finishing the year with a combined 260-131 point differential. Seven players scored 10 or more goals this year, including three who went for more than 50. 

Senior Ava Claire-Collins led the team with 77 to bring her career total to well over 200 goals. Junior Brooke Holmes scored 65, and senior Jules Brown had 54.

Chapin hosted Socastee in round one of the postseason. Socastee was 6-10 and 2-6 in region games and qualified as the lowest seed. The Eagles took care of business in the first game and will play region rival River Bluff in round two. 

Also looking to compete this postseason is Lexington, who enters the playoffs 10-2 overall with the only two losses coming to Chapin. 

The Wildcats also had a dominant season, outscoring their opponents 215-69. Their first loss against Chapin was by a seven-point margin on March 4. 

In the rematch at Lexington on March 21, the Wildcats improved their play but lost 15-12. Against every other opponent, Lexington has been dominant. 

The Wildcats rode a four-game win streak into their opening-round contest against St. James, which they won 21-4. The Sharks went 11-4 in the regular season and dropped two region games for a second-place finish. 

Lexington will rely on its usual contributors in the postseason. Izzy Saville will end her career as the program’s leading scorer and has the chance to add to her total. Sophomore Lily Sundell will be a strong option behind Saville, and Emersin Clamp will have to shut the other team down from goal.

The Wildcats were one of three girls teams to advance past the first round last year, joining Chapin and Dutch Fork. The team lost in round two to the eventual champions, Wando, who they will play in the second round on the road this Thursday.

River Bluff and Dutch Fork tried to pull off upsets on the road against higher-seeded teams in the first round. 

The Gators finished third in the region after going 4-4 and 9-6 overall. The team drew Carolina Forest in round one. The Panthers went 11-4 overall and 5-3 in region in 2024. 

River Bluff won that game 15-7 on April 16.

Dutch Fork finished 5-8 overall and 2-6 in region with a pair of wins over White Knoll. The Silver Foxes were scheduled to play Wando in the first round.

Wando picked right up where they left off last year, going undefeated in region play to earn a one-seed. The Warriors have two losses overall this season, including one to Chapin. 

Dutch Fork was just too outgunned, losing 22-3.

The third round of the girls tournament will be next week on April 22, followed by the championship game the following week on April 27.

Boys Preview 

The Lexington boys enter the postseason in prime form after going undefeated in the region season at 7-0. The Wildcats began the playoffs on a nine-game win streak after picking up a win over Fort Mill last week. 

The Wildcats started their postseason earlier than the rest of the boys teams, playing Tuesday after the girls, beating St. James as well.

 The Sharks had an up-and-down season, finishing one game under .500 after a disappointing region schedule. 

Lexington will need to continue doing what it has been doing to come away successful in the second round. The team will lean on their trio of senior scorers Wyatt Wilson, Ian Lewis and Hudson Wood. 

The Wildcats will potentially have the opportunity to play a region rival in round two. 

Dutch Fork will hit the road for their first playoff game. The Silver Foxes were scheduled to face Socastee in the first round after finishing third in the region. 

The Silver Foxes went 3-3 in their final six games and have struggled to earn wins against formidable competition. The team has done a good job of beating teams worse than them, but their path through the playoffs is on the road against tougher competition. 

Socastee is a beatable team that went 11-3 overall, but 3-3 in region to earn second place. The Braves are also 3-3 in their last six games, putting them on even ground with Dutch Fork. 

Should the Silver Foxes win against Socastee, they could come home to Lexington County but would have to face top-seeded Lexington on the road, if the Wildcats win. 

Chapin’s boys finished second in the region to earn a first-round home game against Carolina Forest, which they won 15-1 on April 17. 

The Eagles went 12-3 in the 2024 season and finished 6-2 in conference play, losing to Lexington twice. Chapin begins the postseason on a four-game win streak after adding two commanding wins last week against River Bluff and White Knoll. 

Senior duo Owen Salazar and Holden Condrey will look to end their senior season on top after helping Chapin make it to the semifinal round in 2023. The two combined for over 100 goals this season and have boosted the Eagles’ offense with their play. 

The team’s round one opponent, Carolina Forest, finished third in their region but went 10-6 overall. This first game was a rematch of last year’s first round game, which Chapin won 21-4. 

The final boys team to make the postseason, and Chapin’s potential second-round opponent should they both advance, was River Bluff. 

The Gators have an uphill battle scheduled for the first round with a game against region winner, Wando. The Warriors were 6-0 in their conference and 13-3 overall. 

Wando was also last season’s state runner-up, losing to Nation Ford 13-10 in the title game. 

The second round of games is scheduled to begin April 20 for the boys. The third round will occur next week.

Last week’s big performances 

Holden Condrey scored 10 goals for Chapin’s boys in their 20-5 victory against White Knoll.

Izzy Saville had 14 goals across two games for Lexington’s girls team last week.

Katie Westbrook scored seven goals and added an assist for River Bluff against Dutch Fork.

Carter Hunt had five goals and an assist in Dutch Fork’s win over River Bluff.

Brooke Holmes had 10 goals in two games for Chapin against White Knoll and River Bluff.

Playoff schedule 

April 16 games (Round one)

G1: Chapin girls: 21, Socastee: 5

G2: Lexington girls: 21, St. James: 4

G3: River Bluff girls: 15, Carolina Forest: 7

G4: Wando: 22, Dutch Fork girls: 3 

G5: Lexington boys: 14, St. James: 5

April 17 games (Round one)

G6: Chapin: 15, Carolina Forest: 1

G7: Dutch Fork at Socastee boys

G8: River Bluff at Wando boys

April 18 games (Round two)

G9: Chapin vs. River Bluff girls

G10: Lexington at Wando girls

April 20 games (Round two)

G11: Lexington vs. Winner of G7

G12: Chapin vs. Winner of G8