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ECHS girls’ lacrosse gets first win over Richmond Hill
Megan Coleman
Effingham County attacker Megan Coleman slices through the Richmond Hill defense for a shot March 28. Coleman scored four goals in the Rebels' dramatic 7-6 double-overtime girls lacrosse win. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald


SPRINGFIELD – Effingham County’s success against Richmond Hill in girls’ lacrosse was once measured by the amount of time the Rebels stayed close.

That changed last Thursday night.

ECHS led most of the way and displayed resilience when the Wildcats tied the game late in regulation.

Megan Coleman’s goal broke the deadlock with 2:28 left in the second overtime, and the Rebels produced one of their biggest wins in program history by defeating the Wildcats 7-6 at Rebel Field.

ECHS (8-3, 3-2 Area 7 in Class 5A-6A) won its fourth straight game and positioned itself for a shot at a state tournament berth (and possibly a postseason home game) with one area game left – against rival South Effingham.

“This was big for the program,” Rebels coach Alison Lawson said. “We lost seven seniors off last year’s team and the girls had to step up and decide who was going to lead this team.”

ECHS had lost its first six lacrosse games against Richmond Hill by an average of 10 goals and had never come closer than five (last year’s 16-11 loss).

But Olivia Morgan set Thursday’s tone within seconds by winning the game-opening faceoff and finishing a dash downfield by whipping a shot into the Richmond Hill goal.

Morgan Solti
Effingham County's Morgan Solti jumps for joy after watching Megan Coleman's shot find the net for a double-overtime 7-6 win over Richmond Hill in girls lacrosse last Thursday. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)
Morgan had all three of her goals in the first half, the third coming with 1.7 seconds left in the half to keep the Rebels ahead 4-3.

Richmond Hill (7-3-1, 4-2 Area) tied the game at 4 on Nia Woodworth’s goal midway through the third quarter.

Coleman answered with two goals in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. But Wildcat freshman Kylen Tucker-Flynn scored at 8:05 to make it 6-5 and tied the game 6-6 with 1:17 left in regulation.

It was a disheartening moment for the Rebels, who failed to widen their early fourth-quarter lead with a man advantage after a Richmond Hill penalty and later missed two penalty runs.

“I will say (losing the lead) was a little discouraging because Richmond Hill has always been a second-half team,” Lawson said.

Goalie Faith Strickland, who committed to Lander University in December, kept ECHS in the game with seven key saves and topped 200 saves in her career.

In the second overtime, Morgan’s feed to Coleman led to the decisive goal. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. They’ve always worked well together. The duo formed the Rebels’ all-region softball double-play combination. Morgan was a first-teamer at shortstop and Coleman, a first-teamer at second base.

“Last year, we led Richmond Hill and were close at the half, but then we couldn’t stay with them in the second half,” Lawson said. “The girls showed how far they’ve improved.”