In 2019, Jesuit edged out Lake Oswego 13-12 for the Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association state championship, the Crusaders’ first state title for girls lacrosse.
After COVID-19 canceled the 2020 and 2021 state championships, the Crusaders and Lakers are back to compete in the state championship game on Friday night. The OGLA state title game will be on Friday at 7 p.m. at Oregon City Pioneer Stadium.
Jesuit, the No. 1 ranked team in the tournament, comes into Friday’s game with a perfect 16-0 record. The Crusaders were led by the best defense in the state, averaging a state-low 4.06 goals per game to opponents. The next best defense in the state was Lake Oswego, who allowed 4.16 goals per game.
The Crusaders’ defense is anchored by two goalkeepers who the team can rely on. Sydney Partovi has taken the lion’s share of the play time, playing 475 total minutes over 15 games. She has allowed 53 goals and amassed 76 saves with a goals against average of 5.58. Evie Hester has played 285 minutes in 11 games, allowing 24 goals and grabbing 26 saves with a goals against average of 4.21.
For Lake Oswego, Greta DeGeest has been in goal all season. In 16 games played, she has allowed 87 goals, a 5.44 goals against average and has 148 saves.
The Lakers have scored more points this season than Jesuit (233 total) and are averaging 12.26 goals per game. Jesuit scored 199 goals this year, averaging 12.44 goals per game.
In the state tournament, Jesuit is averaging 16.5 points per game. Lake Oswego is averaging 17.5 points per game.
Piper Daskalos has been the Crusaders’ rock on offense this season. The junior is averaging 5.2 points per game, with 57 total goals this season. She also has a team-leading 21 assists and has scored on 70.4% of her shots this year.
But Daskalos is far from the only member of the team putting up points. Gigi Abernathy and Kiana Santiago each have 32 goals scored this season. Santiago has added 17 assists while Abernathy has 15. Sophia Pittelli has 22 goals and six assists.
The Lakers also have players who can put up points in large quantities. Senior Kate Anders is Lake Oswego’s top scorer with 55 goals (5.267 per game average) and 24 assists.
Edie Prager has 48 goals scored with 20 assists. Barrett Doan has 34 goals and 13 assists while Courtney Havel has scored 26 goals with 21 assists.
The Lakers have seven players who are in double-digits for assists this season, showing that their strength on offense comes in passing the ball around.
Lake Oswego enters the title game with a 15-4 overall record. While three of those losses came at the hands of teams from Georgia in March, the Lakers’ one Oregon loss came from Jesuit on March 30. The Crusaders beat the Lakers 10-8 that day.
In that game, Santiago scored three goals for the Crusaders. Abernathy and Daskalos each scored twice. Partovi was in the goal for the whole game, with 11 saves.
For the Lakers, Havel scored three times, with Anders and Prager each scoring twice. DeGeest had six saves.
Lake Oswego has won six of the past nine state championships in the OGLA.
— Nik Streng, nstreng@oregonian.com, @NikStreng
