Senior attackman Andrew Adford scored the game-winning goal with 1:01 remaining in overtime to give third-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas a dramatic, 8-7 victory over second-seeded Shawnee Mission East in a Lacrosse Association of Kansas state semifinal Thursday afternoon at Rockhurst University.
Adford, who finished with a goal and an assist, stole a pass on a failed clear attempt, went in one-on-one on the goalie and finished to set off a wild celebration and put the Saints (5-4) into the state-title game for the first time in school history.
St. Thomas Aquinas will face defending state champion Olathe on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., CDT, at Blue Valley West. During the regular season, the Saints lost twice to Olathe, 17-4 on April 15 and 15-2 on April 1.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Chris Berger said. “They work well as a unit. They pass and catch well. It’ll be a tough draw for us.”
On Thursday, sophomore attackman Scott Davis scored a game-high four goals, junior attackman Jake Weller scored twice and Adford and junior middie Mike Hartung each had a goal and an assist.
But the player of the game had to be junior goalie Chris Gochis, who saved an incredible 27 shots.
In defeat, sophomore attackman Droste Milledge scored three goals for Shawnee Mission East, which finished the season 6-5 and was denied a chance to return to the state championship game for a second straight season.
St. Thomas Aquinas led 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, 4-3 at halftime and 6-5 at the end of the third quarter.
But Shawnee Mission East scored back-to-back goals to start the fourth and took a 7-6 lead when Milledge fired home his third of the day with 9:07 to play. Davis scored the equalizer with 6:33 remaining to force overtime.
That set the stage for Adford to make a game-deciding individual play.
“The boys played wonderful,” Berger said. “The team has been playing a lot better lately, and we just gutted it out at the end.”
OLATHE 22, BLUE VALLEY WEST 7
In the second game of Thursday's doubleheader, the defending state-champion Hawks earned their third straight trip to the title game after dismantling the Jaguars.
Olathe (10-3) enters the championship game not only having already crushed St. Thomas Aquinas twice, but the Hawks are riding a 22-game winning streak against Kansas competition. Olathe hasn't lost to an in-state opponent in two years.
On Thursday, the Hawks rolled to a 14-4 halftime lead before extending the spread even further in the second half.
Fourth-seeded Blue Valley West finished the season 3-8.