Ava Goldson passes MICDS past Marquette and back to familiar spot in MSLA girls final

“I really try not to pay too much attention to stats because it can kind of get in your head a little bit,” the MICDS senior attacker said. “But I will say I’ve always been the assister on the team. It’s great to get a goal, but it’s amazing to see a teammate’s face when you give that goal to them.”

Goldson had 81 assists this season heading into Thursday night’s game and she unofficially picked up eight more helpers in leading the Rams to a 20-10 win over Marquette in a Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association semifinal game at Missouri Baptist University’s Spartan Field.

The state record for assists in a season is 94, set two seasons ago by Parkway South’s Caitlyn McDermott.

Goldson, who was named the Metro League player of the year and a first-team all-state player this past week, will have a chance to equal or surpass that total in her final game as a Ram on Saturday.

“She’s been obviously irreplaceable,” MICDS coach Kate Haffenreffer said. “It’s pretty special when you’ve got somebody on your team that leads in assists by double over the next person in the state. She sets everybody up and they’re pretty pinpoint to their sticks.”

MICDS extends title game record

The win gives No. 2 seed MICDS (17-3) a chance to extend its own record with its 18th MSLA championship game appearance in the 24-year history of the state tournament.

The Rams, who are 14-3 all-time in MSLA finals, will take on No. 1 seed Eureka (17-1) in the title tilt at 1 p.m. Saturday at Missouri Baptist.

“It’s wild. We’ve worked our butts off this season,” Goldson said. “I’ve never been on a team that’s so hyped to win. We’ve celebrated every goal and every triumph.”

The Wildcats, who held on to edge defending champion John Burroughs 11-10 in Thursday’s first semifinal matchup, have lost the last two MSLA title games, including 7-2 to MICDS two years ago.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Haffenreffer said. “We’ve been working hard. We had to work out some kinks and figure out our flow, so I give a lot of props to everybody.”

Loss halts Mustangs’ magical run

Marquette (10-6) crashed the final four as the No. 6 seed after upending third-seeded Summit in the quarterfinals, but the Mustangs fell just short of their second title game berth in program history.

Marquette will take on No. 4 seed Burroughs (13-6) for third place at 11 a.m. Saturday at Missouri Baptist.

“Both teams fought really hard. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in our favor,” Mustangs coach Renee Abrolat said. “But I’m so proud of our team. We’ve had our ups and downs, but I think that makes a great team.”

Rams’ explosive first quarter

MICDS scored two goals in the game’s first 47 seconds, and it was a harbinger of things to come.

Marquette got within one goal on two different occasions, but the Rams tallied six consecutive goals in the final 7 minutes, 22 seconds of the first quarter and emerged with an 8-2 advantage.

Caroline Koman scored three goals in the period (two assisted by Goldson) and Josie Ciaramiata found the back of the cage twice (both off feeds from Goldson).

“It gives you a lot of confidence when you come out that strong,” Goldson said. “When you score the first goal of the game, that kind of momentum helps a team keep it going to win.”

Mustangs rally

After MICDS scored the first goal of the second quarter, Marquette mounted a huge comeback to make it a game again.

The first goal of the game by first-team all-state player Marin Lally kickstarted a 7-1 Mustangs run that cut it to 10-9.

“We called that timeout, and it did everything that we wanted it to do,” Abrolat said. “We came back on that huge run and got as close as we could. They did a great job coming back.”

In the cards

Three unreleasable yellow cards were issued in the first quarter, meaning the player had to serve the entire two minutes no matter how many goals are scored.

Marquette got a player-advantage late in the quarter but could not capitalize. MICDS, on the other hand, got a huge benefit.

The Mustangs’ Sydney Krounage was sent off with 7:47 left in the quarter and teammate Lally followed her 31 seconds later.

During that span of 2:31, the Rams scored four goals to turn a one-goal lead into a five-goal cushion.

“We talk a lot about just moving the ball and trusting one another,” Haffenreffer said. “I think we have a lot of high lacrosse IQ and once they start moving it and trusting each other, there’s gonna be somebody open when you’re a man up.”

Marquette did take advantage, though, when two MICDS players were sent off 13 seconds apart in the second quarter. The Mustangs tallied three player-advantage goals during their run to get back in the game.

Player down

After Madelyn Haas made it a one-goal game, the Rams were whistled for their fourth penalty of the game, which meant they had to play the rest of the game one player down.

Undaunted, MICDS tallied the final two goals of the first half to stabilize things a bit and take a 12-9 lead into halftime.

The Rams would continue that momentum with a 5-0 advantage in the third quarter to blow the game back open in their favor.

“I think we practice and prep for that,” Haffenreffer said. “We try to get all the scenarios that we can going at practice, so they’re ready for whatever’s thrown at them.”