For the first time in program history, the Lexington girls lacrosse team rules the state. 

The Wildcats secured their first state championship after a 12-7 win over Spartanburg in the 5A Division I girls title game. The win capped a dominant season for Lexington that saw the team finish 16-1 and undefeated in region play. 

“ I can't believe it. It's just an honor to be here and being on this team,” Lexington’s senior goalie Emersin Clamp said after the game. “ We said we were coming out here to finish, and that's exactly what we did.” 

Lexington led the entire game. The team jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Clamp was electric in the opening period, saving almost everything that came her way. 

Spartanburg got its first point on the board with five seconds left in the quarter to cut the deficit to three. That was the closest the game would get. 

Senior midfielder Izzy Saville secured a hat trick with a goal early in the second quarter. Saville finished the contest with five goals for the third straight game. 

“It's not just for me. I mean, it feels great, but it's for my team,” Saville said. “ We knew we wanted to be here, and it has to take everyone. And I felt I had to step up, so that's what I did.” 

Spartanburg responded to Saville’s goal with their own goal a few minutes later. The two teams played even in the second quarter, scoring one goal apiece as the Vikings started to settle in and extend possessions. 

The Wildcats started the third quarter with a 3-0  scoring run. Anna Barger scored the first goal about a minute into the period. Saville followed that with back-to-back goals to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 8-2. 

With the game slipping away, the Vikings had to react fast, and they did. Spartanburg ended the period on a 4-1 scoring run to cut the deficit back down to three goals. 

During the break between the third and fourth quarter, Lexington head coach Tiffany Tortorello told her team they needed to keep up the pressure and play for each other during the final few minutes. 

“Tempo up and basically just foot on the gas, making sure that you're playing smart, you're playing as a team. There's no selfish ball in this,” Tortorello said. 

Jada VanSickle got the goal-scoring started for Lexington in the final period. She checked into the game and immediately scored to put Lexington up 10-6. 

“That was a huge play. She basically came in and was able to score, and I think that brought the momentum up,” Tortorello said. “She came off the bench, and having that momentum increase made the team really excited.”

Bella Adler scored her second goal of the game less than a minute after to put Lexington up 11-6. 

Barger capped her hat trick about a minute later to score the final Wildcat goal. 

In total, there were four hat tricks scored in the game. Saville and Barger had Lexington’s while Spartanburg’s Evers Morris and Saffy Evans scored six of the Vikings’ seven goals.

Lexington began to chew the clock down for the final eight minutes. Spartanburg was able to score one more goal before the final buzzer, but it was too late for any serious comeback attempt. 

Saville led all scorers with five goals. Barger finished with three goals, Adler had two and VanSickle and Charleigh Taylor each scored one. Clamp was excellent in goal, finishing with 17 saves on 24 shots faced. 

The Wildcats won their first state championship just two years into Tortorello’s Lexington career. Since her arrival, the team set a program record for wins in a season and defeated powerhouse Wando for the first time ever. 

For the past two years, Tortorello has been installing her system and her mentality into her team. This year showed that hard work does pay off. 

“It means everything,” she said.