Chagrin advances to state final in OT

AKRON » After they forced overtime, the Chagrin Falls girls lacrosse team knew that they had to keep their foot on the gas to finish the comeback against Rocky River in a Division II state semifinal at Copley High School.

With 21 seconds left in the extra frame, Alex Chinnici floored it with a shot to the top left part of the net.

Her shot found the back and propelled the Tigers back to the state final after they trailed by four goals in their 10-9 victory on June 1.

“I would do anything for this team and we said in the huddle before overtime that it was three short minutes of whatever you have,” said Chinnici. “We were able to capitalize on staying outside of the 12 and we knew that they played a backer so they were spread wide defensively.”

Chagrin Falls will face Mariemont in the D-II state final at 10 a.m. on June 4 at Crew Stadium.

The Rocky River attack was dominant in the first half as they recorded five straight goals and pushed their halftime lead to four at 7-3 over Chagrin Falls. The Pirates press defense also gave the Tigers fits in their attack, as Rocky River put two defenders on the ball at all times.

Chagrin Falls cut that lead to two at the start the second half with goals from Sarah Burgess and Chinnici but Rocky River was pushed it back to three with five minutes left. Coach KC White called her final timeout and that served as a soft reset for the Tigers offense.

“Rocky River was playing an amazing game with

the pressure on the defense and the attack,” said White. “Our halftime talk was just one goal at a time we were going to creep back into this game. We were confident in what got us here. In the timeout we were down three and I just said there’s still a lot of time left, it was just a goal a minute to get the lead. We kept trying to find chances and were able to take advantage of it.”

The comeback started with a goal from Peyton Gellin in the possession after the timeout and Chinnici made it a one-goal game the next trip down the field. Both goals came off of assists from Aubree Daugherty, who finished the contest with three.

While her assists brought Chagrin Falls within one, the Tigers still needed a goal in the final minute to tie the game. Daugherty drew a penalty with 16 seconds left and took her position in the eight-meter arc to try and tie the game.

“I got a little frazzled with their pressure defense, it felt like a tornado had hit me,” said Daugherty. “I needed to wait and remain calm before the passes. I tried to not think about all that pressure on that shot because that would’ve added to the nerves right there. We practiced eight meters a lot and I knew what I needed to do, so as long as I didn’t focus on the nerves I was ready to go.”

Daugherty found the back of the net and Rocky River was unable to get a look as the last seconds ticked off the clock and the game went to overtime.