The Blessed Trinity Titans close their regular season Tuesday against Chattahoochee knowing that they can do no better than the No. 2 seed in Area 5 5A-6A in the upcoming state playoffs.
That’s because the No. 1 Titans (12-1) lost to No. 3 Cambridge 14-13 in late February, which cost them the area championship in an otherwise perfect season against a top-tier schedule. As state championship winners each of the last three seasons, they know they’re going to get everyone’s best effort.
Christy Sheahan, in her first season coaching lacrosse at the varsity level, has the Titans giving their best effort as well. That’s why they’ll be ready to go against Chattahoochee (8-6, 1-2).
“Our girls know they aren’t untouchable,” Sheahan said. “They learned that from the loss to Cambridge. That was our only loss, but we can’t take winning for granted. We’ve still got one area game left, and if we take care of business, hopefully we come out on top and ready for the playoffs. Everyone always wants to beat Blessed Trinity. They’re coming for blood, so we’ve got to play well and hopefully we will. The girls have the heart and desire, and love for their teammates, and I’m praying they continue to do so.”
The Titans opened the season with three straight wins over teams currently ranked in 7A, beating No. 10 Mill Creek 12-11, No. 3 Walton 13-7 and No. 5 West Forsyth 10-4. They also beat 7A’s No. 7 North Paulding 15-3, A-4A’s No. 1 Fellowship Christian 18-10 and No. 4 Whitewater 14-6, and 5A-6A’s No. 5 Creekview 17-7. They beat Charlotte Catholic, ranked No. 2 in North Carolina’s 4A in the Maxpreps Computer rankings, 17-9.
They’re led by senior attack Clark Hamilton, who in the Titans’ most recent game, the Fellowship win, scored her 250th career goal. Hamilton, a Florida commit, has 65 goals on the season, with 10 assists. Sophomore Hannah Daley has 60 goals and already has 100 for her career, and senior Morgan Handzel has 41 goals and has a 76% draw percentage, collecting her 600th career face-off win earlier in the season.
“Everyone knows those three are an impressive trio though our entire team has contributed and stepped into roles in a big way,” Sheahan said. “We lost some valuable seniors from last year, but they’ve risen to the occasion and kind of picked up where those seniors left off.”
The Titans like to open fast and stay aggressive. Slow starts lead to struggles.
“The biggest thing is that we’ve got to come out hot,” Sheahan said. “If we come out slow, that’s when we’ve found ourselves in trouble, then we have to work our way back. We’re at our best when we’re playing fast and furious. That’s what we need to do, because these are good teams we’re playing. If we can get them overwhelmed in the first few minutes of the game, they can struggle to get hot, and become deflated. No one has ever given up against us, but if we can take the wind out of their sails from the start, that’s the key for us. Fast and furious.”
If there’s a silver lining to the No. 2 seed, it’s that the Titans could get their chance at redemption with a win over Cambridge in the state playoffs. Should the two meet there, it would be in the state championship, 2 p.m. May 11 at Denmark.
“We expect to be in the championship,” Sheahan said. “I can’t say we expect to win it, but we feel like we have all the tools available to win, and if we come ready to play, I believe we can. We just have to be ready from, ‘Go.’”
