Cardinal Gibbons girls down Weddington for 4A lacrosse title
Cardinal Gibbons stepped on the gas in the second half Saturday, outscoring Weddington 11-1 after halftime and routing the Warriors 17-7 in the NCHSAA 4A girls’ lacrosse state championship game in Durham.
The victory gave Cardinal Gibbons a Saturday sweep, as the boys’ team downed Lake Norman earlier for the 4A boys’ championship.
It was the fourth straight girls’ state championship for the Crusaders and the second year in a row that they trounced a Charlotte-area team in the finals. Cardinal Gibbons beat Charlotte Catholic 19-7 for the crown in 2024.
This time around, Weddington (19-8) kept pace with the Crusaders (18-5) for a half.
Abbey Testa’s free-position goal, the equivalent of a direct kick in soccer, left the Warriors behind only 6-5 at halftime.
The second half was a different story.
The Crusaders scored on their opening possession of the half, on a goal by Ella Grimes just 48 seconds into the period. A minute later, Rocky Phelps bounced a shot off the goal post and past Weddington goalkeeper Ashlea Nieland.
Down 8-5, the Warriors appeared to get a break, as Cardinal Gibbons’ Chloe Tupis received a two-minute penalty. But the Crusaders killed off Weddington’s one-player advantage and then scored a goal, by Ella Grimes, just 22 seconds after the penalty expired.
Grimes got another goal just a minute later, and the Crusaders were up 10-5.
An Ella Turner goal for Weddington cut the margin to 10-6 with 4:31 left in the third quarter, but Cardinal Gibbons went on a 7-0 run over a 9 1/2-minute stretch of the third and fourth periods.
Weddington’s standout sophomore, Grace Webb, finished with two goals and an assist. Logan Hailey and Ella Turner also had two goals apiece.
Just noting
▪ Junior attacker Jane Bailey Ward (four goals, two assists, five shots on goal) led Cardinal Gibbons’ offense. Ella Grimes (four goals, five shots on goal) and Lexi Mullahy (three goals, four assists, four shots on goal) contributed.
▪ Some statistical evidence of the Crusaders’ dominance: They outshot Weddington 36-19, had more shots on goal (25 to 14), and went 19-8 on draws.
▪ Grace Webb’s two goals capped a superb sophomore season. She finished with 106 goals.
▪ Cardinal Gibbons’ Addie Brown had a big day in goal. She stopped 50 percent of Weddington’s shots on goal.
▪ Cardinal Gibbons finished with an 18-5 record, but the Crusaders were 16-0 against North Carolina competition. The Crusaders lost to teams from Georgia (twice), Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The Crusaders also finished with a 14-game winning streak.
This story was originally published May 31, 2025 at 3:41 PM.
