GPS used an eight-goal effort from Reagan Ziegler and a ball control offense in the closing minute to defeat Briarcrest Christian 15-14 and advance to the TGLA Division II State Semifinals on Friday night. The game featured two lead changes and six ties during the 50 minutes of regulation play. The Bruisers were able to win the final draw and run out the clock after a furious comeback by the Saints in the final five minutes.
With 5:56 left in the game, a laser shot from GPS sophomore Sofia Bean after a feed from senior Evie Jackson gave the Bruisers a 14-10 lead that marked the largest lead for either team on the night. From that point on, Briarcrest mounted an impressive surge led by sophomores Campbell Slankard and Madeleine Lowrance to score four of the game’s next five goals. Slankard scored on a free position shot with 4:50 remaining to energize the home crowd. Lowrence then won the ensuing draw that led to the next Saints’ goal.
GPS led 15-12 with 2:21 on the clock when Reagan Ziegler scored her final goal of the night off a pass from senior CJ Polk, but Briarcrest would score two more in the next 80 seconds, one from Slankard and one from Lowrence, forcing the Bruisers to call a timeout. Ziegler and the Bruisers won the game’s final draw and held possession to close out the game. The ball was safely controlled in the stick of Evie Jackson when the final horn sounded, sending a rush of black uniforms onto the field from the visitors’ bench.
The win moved the fifth-seeded Bruisers into next round of the postseason to face the winner of top seed Harpeth Hall and Baylor, a game scheduled to be played at 11 AM today in Nashville. GPS had not earned a berth in the state semifinals since back in 2007 when the program was only in its third year of existence. The 2022 campaign marks the second straight year that the Bruisers have won at least 16 games during the season, something that had never been done before last spring.
For Ziegler, her eight-goal output was her highest of the season after scoring seven in March in a home game against Lovett. The sophomore scored GPS’s last four goals of the first half including a crucial strike from in front of the cage with just seven seconds left on the clock before the break. Multiple goals were also scored in the game by Bean and Polk who took advantage of the Saints’ increased focus on Ziegler throughout the game. Polk ended the game with a hat trick giving her a career best 30 on the year.
FINAL TEAM SCORE
Briarcrest 6 8 - 14
GPS 7 8 - 15