Deja vu: Cardinal Gibbons wins second straight NCHSAA girls 4A lacrosse championship

Cardinal Gibbons never trailed, despite yielding six first-half goals to Charlotte Catholic in Friday's N.C. 4A girls’ lacrosse state final at Durham County Memorial Stadium.

The Crusaders survived a Cougars second-half, game-tying, four-goal flurry before championship MVP Izzi Hammond netted her fourth goal with 13:50 remaining. Hammond's final score gave Cardinal Gibbons the lead for good on the way to a 15-11 final score that cemented the Crusaders’ sixth overall state championship, all among the past seven seasons.

Cardinal Gibbons (21-2) defeated visiting Charlotte Catholic 15-8 on March 18 in what proved to be a preview of the sport's first 4A state final. All previous women's title tilts concluded a single, open-classification tournament.

"We intentionally make sure we continue really hard competition so we’re ready for the in-state rivalries," Cardinal Gibbons coach Patricia Alexander said.

"I knew our girls could do it if we stayed to the plan."

Hammond's last goal — which put the Crusaders ahead 11-10 — was the first of four straight for Cardinal Gibbons. Charlotte Jackson put a one-hopper in the net (10:28) before Rocky Phelps’ back-to-back conversions. Phelps’ first score (9:46) seemingly ricocheted off her stick and found its way into the net. With 6:53 to go, Phelps recovered a loose ball in the critical scoring area and blasted a direct shot into the net.

Charlotte Catholic (17-4) had a plan, too — to win draws and control possession to slow down the speedy Crusaders. The runners-up, though, were foul prone.

"They’re too good of a team to try to play a player down," Charlotte Catholic coach Dee Bier said.

"They’re quick. They’re crafty. We knew that. I couldn't be more proud of the way the girls played."

The Cougars, led by Kate Daniels, rallied from a 10-6 halftime deficit by scoring the second half's first four goals. Daniels scored her game high sixth goal to knot the score at 10 with 19:09 on the game clock.

Charlotte Catholic, however, went scoreless, for the next 14:21 until Jenna Thompson scored the Cougars’ last goal of the season.

The Cougars’ 11 goals Friday were the most they scored in any of the schools’ four head-to-head state finals. Cardinal Gibbons won each of the previous three matchups, including last spring after back-to-back meetings in 2018 and 2019.

The Crusaders’ final goal on Willie Bradshaw Field included one more "sister act" before the curtain fell for the elder. Gracie Mullahy, a senior, scored off an assist from sophomore sister Lexi with 56 seconds remaining.

Now, three Mullahy sisters, including Caroline (Class of 2021, now a Harvard athlete), all have two state championships.

"That's awesome," Alexander said. "That's apropos, isn't it?"