LADUE – The John Burroughs coaching staff awards a lacrosse ball with the number ‘46’ written on it after every game.
The number comes from the idea that within a 50-minute girls lacrosse game, the ball is only in each player’s stick for a maximum of four minutes. What a player does without the ball usually determines winning or losing.
“It’s a little bit of an overestimation, it’s probably more like two or three minutes in your stick, but we came up with four,” John Burroughs coach Meghan DiGiulio said. “We really focus on what you do those other 46 minutes.”
What the Bombers did without the ball on Saturday won them a championship.
Freshman Reese Rafferty scored four goals, and her three freshman teammates helped in controlling the midfield as John Burroughs defeated Eureka 8-4 to capture the Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association girls state championship Saturday at Leland Field.
John Burroughs (15-3), which won its 13th consecutive game, captured its first state title since 2012, when the Bombers won their third state championship in four years.
For senior captains Nadia Steinle, Esther Pottebaum and Estelle Ballet, the third time was the charm after earning state runner-up in field hockey the past two seasons.
“I’m always nervous for championship day because the past two times didn’t go our way, but we finally did it, and it’s sweet to go out on that note,” Ballet said.
For Eureka (15-2), the season ended on the doorstep of a championship for the second consecutive season, after suffering a 7-2 defeat to MICDS in the state title game in 2022.
In that loss to MICDS, the Wildcats led 2-1 at halftime before being shut out in the second half. They almost experienced the same fate in the first half on Saturday, as relentless pressure in the midfield by John Burroughs held Eureka scoreless until 4.4 seconds remained in the half.
“We wanted (to win) so bad and we had the grit and determination to get that ball back any time they got it,” freshman midfielder Kate Logsdon said.
Logsdon, Steinle and Pottebaum joined freshmen Katy Chapman and Jane Dunaway in patrolling the midfield and intercepting Eureka clearing passes. When the Wildcats attempted to advance the ball by running it up the field, they met double-teams and legal stick checks which jarred the ball free.
“(Eureka) is a very fast team and very nifty with the ball, and we didn’t want to give them a moment to get settled and get into a groove,” Pottebaum said.
And that mindset carried over to the John Burroughs’ attackers, who made defensive hustle plays all the way up to their restraining line.
After senior Annie Calhoon forced a turnover, she sprinted to score the first goal of the game. Calhoon bookended the half by intercepting an attempted goalie clearing pass and feeding junior Rosalie Tasker for the goal that made the score 6-0.
In between those two goals, Rafferty earned a hat trick, including one where she stole the ball in the attacking end, wheeled towards the crease and scored.
“It was definitely a confidence booster for the whole team being up by so many goals at the beginning of the game. It gave us momentum,” Rafferty said.
That momentum was furthered by stellar play in goal by junior Sahana Madala, who went into the splits to make an outstanding save on a low shot from by Eureka junior Kylee Pickens during the Wildcats’ first trip into Bombers’ territory.
Moments later, Madala made two more excellent stops on junior Bailey Boulay and senior Kaylee Gross. Near the end of the half, Madala stuffed a free position attempt from sophomore Ruby Copeland to keep a zero on the scoreboard.
“That first save flipped a switch for me and made me feel really confident from the get-go,” Madala said. “I have no words to explain how well our defense played today. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Pickens sent a shot past Madala with 4.4 seconds remaining in the half, breaking a championship game scoring drought of more than 50 minutes for Eureka and closing the deficit to 6-1.
“We talked at halftime and said that the difference right now is our hustle in the midfield, tracking down loose balls and just putting pressure on them,” DiGiulio said.
Chapman and Dunaway continued to steal possessions for John Burroughs to begin the second half. A Dunaway steal led to the fourth goal of the game for Rafferty before Eureka made its move.
Boulay circled the net to score, junior Claire Rickles scored in transition on an excellent clearing pass from senior Addison Hardin, and sophomore Ruby Copeland finished a superb passing play with an assist from Rickles, as Eureka scored three times in a 5 minute 19 second span and sliced the deficit to 7-4.
“At halftime, we all believed we could come back,” Eureka coach Melissa Menchella said. “We had to keep chipping away, one, by one, by one, and we made the best effort to chip away, but unfortunately, the cards weren’t in our favor today.”
Dunaway netted an insurance goal for John Burroughs with 7:23 to play, and the Bombers ran out the clock from there, literally, as Madala laid the ball in the goal crease and Logsdon scooped it and sprinted 100 yards near the opposite goal and to safety.
“I try to get it up there the best that I can, and everybody does a really good job getting open,” Logsdon said of her 100-yard dash with the ball.
And it was the moments without the ball, from getting open to defending, that propelled John Burroughs to a state title.
“The hustle and the grit off-ball are really what wins games for us,” Logsdon said. “I think everyone on the field today deserves that ‘46’ ball.”
