Every spring, high school girls’ teams across the Lowcountry compete for state titles in track, tennis, golf and lacrosse.
This year, whether it was their first time tasting gold, raising another trophy in a series of repeats or achieving a long-awaited milestone for their teams and school, the following three Lowcountry girls’ squads not only emerged as the best in the state, but also accomplished these impressive feats in memorable fashion.
Lucy Beckham Girls Lacrosse
Nobody really saw it coming until it was almost over, and as the last seconds ticked down in the girls 5A state lacrosse championship, the Lucy Beckham Lady Bengals, clinging to an 8-5 lead against Fort Mill, were finally able to say, ‘We won one.’
“This was our first state title in program history,” said third-year head coach Vanessa Southworth. “The current seniors were an integral part of beginning this program and taking us to that first state championship game.”
The Lady Bengals were led by senior team captains Abby Butler, Violet Anderson and Cat Chance. Butler finished her career with 98 points, 116 ground balls and 79 caused turnovers.
Chance led the team in points (63) with 41 goals and 22 assists, and reached her 200th career point this season.
Senior Ady Brickle tallied 33 goals and 20 assists. Sophomore Emily Butler showed promising signs for next year with two goals, one assist, three caused turnovers and 10 draw wins in the final.
Junior team captain Iliana Kane had a landmark season, scoring 49 goals en route to reaching the 100-goal plateau, making first-team All-State Midfield, being named District Player of the Year and saving her best for the final with three goals and three caused turnovers.
But with five season losses and only 13 wins, there were times when the team looked like they might be lucky just to make it into the playoffs.
A close 10-8 victory in the first round against Chapin only seemed to bear out an otherwise OK season, until the Lady Bengals suddenly caught fire with a 21-2 smashing against second round opponent Socastee and then hung on in the last moments against feisty Fort Mill.
Now they are the defending champions. “We have been at this since the program started,” Southworth said. “Winning a state championship has always been our goal at the start of every season. And to finally win it in their last season was so rewarding.”
Oceanside Girls Soccer
The Oceanside Collegiate Academy Lady Landsharks soccer team might want to consider taking up baseball since they’re pitching more shutouts these days than a 1960s Sandy Koufax.
In the 2025 AAA state playoffs, OCA won its fifth straight state title, defeating five teams by a combined score of 46-0 — including a 3-0 clobbering of perennial Upstate soccer power Christ Church at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.
“That’s a first for me to shut out all state opponents,” said ninth-year head coach Mark Meyer, who also serves as OCA’s athletic director. “We were a really young team, but our leadership from our team captains overcame that lack of experience.”
All-State defenders Izzy Pessillo and Emma Gesser played as if it were a sin to give up a point. Gesser is committed to play for Presbyterian College in the fall, but Pessillo is returning. All-State sophomore Hailey Piesner led the team in goals, scoring at least once in every playoff game, including a crucial second half goal against Christ Church.
All-State freshman midfielder Ava Klein showed positive signs heading into next year, leading the team in assists. Additionally, All-State midfielder Ella Petry, who scored in the state final, has already received an offer from the University of Maryland — but she’s not going anywhere just yet. “She’s still a junior, so we have her again next year,” Meyer said.
OCA finished the year 18-2-2, tying two 5A teams and losing only to two nationally-ranked teams from North Carolina.
Despite having won the AAA state title every year since 2021, OCA is gearing up for a run at number six — and they are already looking every bit like the odds-on favorite.
“I wouldn’t have said we were favorites at the beginning of this past season because we graduated 11 seniors last year — a lot of talent,” Meyer said. “But after the two losses in April, I started thinking we might have something special. And I’m not only just ecstatic for this group of girls, but everybody’s already thinking about title number six.”
Oceanside Girls Lacrosse
Never mind that the Oceanside Collegiate Academy girls lacrosse team began the 2025 AAA state playoffs by steamrolling its first two opponents, trouncing Westside 22-0 and crushing Aiken 22-1.
Also forget that they defeated long-standing Upstate power Christ Church 18-6 in the semifinal.
The final put them firmly atop the state’s best lacrosse programs, in part because they won, but mainly because it came against Bishop England, a squad that had never lost to them.
“We knew at some point we would have to go through BE to win,” said fourth-year head coach Ashley McCulloch. “We had never beaten them before, and we knew we had to get over this hump to get to the next level of where we wanted to be in lacrosse.”
While OCA was often better than other state teams, they weren’t even regarded as the best in their own backyard.
The state final was all on their side until a two-hour rain delay at halftime allowed Bishop England to regroup and play the Lady Landsharks to a much closer 12-8 final score than the first half indicated.
Senior midfielder Teagan Scott, who committed to Clemson and is regarded as the best player in the state, thwarted all BE attempted comebacks with six goals. She also led the team on the season with 91 goals and 63 assists.
Senior Cadyn Clark added another two goals and junior Kaitlyn Boerst made one goal, four assists and eight draws. Junior goalie Sadie Belle Small made nine critical saves and finished with 146 on the season.
Through it all, senior defender captain Gianna Hayes led not only by example, but with a drive and belief that this OCA team, which finished 15-4, could finally shed the weight of BE.
“To finally beat them in this game was a truly magical moment,” McCullough said. “I kept saying this is a really special team — nine came in as freshmen and it’s been amazing to watch this team grow and win two championships in four years. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to them.”
By L. C. Leach III
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