Cardinal Gibbons rallies past Charlotte Catholic to win 5th NCHSAA girls lacrosse crown

Cardinal Gibbons junior Gracie Mullahy cut to the chase during — and after — Saturday’s NCHSAA girls lacrosse state final at Koka Booth Stadium. Mullahy tallied three goals and two assists, earning MVP honors for the Crusaders, who defeated Charlotte Catholic 13-9 in the schools’ third state finals meeting.

Cardinal Gibbons earned its fifth overall NCHSAA state championship — including four straight from 2016-19 — among the sport’s 12 sanctioned seasons.

Mullahy spoke through her actions, and then, with her words. She told her teammates how much she always wanted to wear a state championship shirt.

“I’m so glad I got to do it with my younger sister,” Mullahy said. “Last year, I didn’t get to do it with my older one. So we’re doing it for her, too.”

Mullahy’s first assist was to her sister, freshman Lexi Mullahy, whose goal put the Crusaders ahead 2-0 at the first half’s 20:55 mark. Lexi wears Cardinal Gibbons’ No. 1 jersey — worn previously by older sister Caroline, who played for the school’s 2018 and 2019 title winners. Caroline, who graduated from Cardinal Gibbons last spring, is a Harvard lacrosse player, and a proud older sister who was in attendance supporting the Crusaders in Saturday’s state final.

“It’s so surreal,” Gracie Mullahy said. “It feels like all we’ve done this season is work and play hard together.”

There was a familial significance for Cardinal Gibbons coach Patricia Alexander, also. Saturday’s outcome earned the five-time state championship coach her first title with her daughter, Taylor, a sophomore starting defender.

Cardinal Gibbons (19-2), which trailed 2021 state champion East Chapel Hill by four goals before rallying in this year’s state quarterfinals, seemed unfazed by Saturday’s 6-2 deficit midway through the first half. The Crusaders got goals from four players — Sydney Calabrese, Charlotte Jackson, Gracie Mullahy, and Georgia Sobocinski — in fewer than three minutes to knot the score at six.

“Because of that, it prepared us for the biggest stage,” Alexander said. “Having experienced this season paid off for them.

“I’m really proud of these girls for digging deep. It might not have been perfect or pretty, but we found a way to win.”

Charlotte Catholic (21-4) got three goals from Peyton Chadwick. Her third goal gave the Cougars their last lead at 7-6, 3:15 before halftime. Gracie Mullahy evened the count before intermission.

Like the first half, the teams split the second half’s first four goals. Cardinal Gibbons tallied its own four-goal spurt. Jackson, Gracie Mullahy, Isabelle Hammond and Sobocinski converted the goals.

“All of our hard work has finally paid off. All the tears from last year, it’s all coming together at this moment.” Gracie Mullahy said. “We found some really great rhythm at the end.”

In Cardinal Gibbons’ second half run, Hammond and Lexi Mullahy became the fifth and sixth Crusaders with at least one goal and one assist for the day.

Cardinal Gibbons defeated Charlotte Catholic 17-10 on March 12. The Crusaders also stopped the Cougars in the 2018 and 2019 state finals.

PHOTOS: Charlotte Catholic vs. Cardinal Gibbons

This story was originally published May 21, 2022 at 4:21 PM.