The one thing Upper Arlington’s boys lacrosse team did not want to do May 29 was the one thing on everyone’s minds.
A day after Ted Wolford, who won 16 state championships as coach of the Golden Bears from 1992-2016 and had served as an assistant since, died at age 66, UA returned to the Division I state tournament with a 13-4 win over visiting New Albany in the Region 3 final.
“We joked that he would have hated that we made it about him, so we told the guys it wasn’t about winning for Ted, anything like that,” coach Kyle Olson said. “It was about worrying about the little things, because that is what he preached.”
Senior midfielder Luke Backes and sophomore attacker Parker Old each had three goals and an assist to pace UA (18-3) into yet another state semifinal meeting with defending champion Cincinnati St. Xavier (19-1) on June 3 at Mason. The teams have met at that stage six times since 2019.
Junior attacker James Janowicz added two goals for the Bears, who went an on 8-0 run after falling behind 2-0 in the first 1:47. Senior goalie Aiden Joly made 10 saves.
UA lost to Worthington Kilbourne in a regional final at home last year.
“It’s so satisfying,” Old said. “When we got the ball, we started to slow it down, get into our groove as an offense and play off each other more than one guy going to the cage. That really helped us.”
Yellow roses and mums were spread across the portion of Ted Wolford Field where the facility’s name is imprinted on the turf. A moment of silence was held before the game, and UA took a team picture with the regional trophy near the name of the field after the game.
“The support from the community and people who knew him has been unbelievable,” Olson said. “I can’t even tell you how many texts and calls I’ve received, and it’s not people who played for him. Countless Division I college coaches have reached out. So have high school coaches from around the country. His impact is immeasurable, and I was so proud of how the guys played together because that was exactly what he would want.”
Dublin Jerome (14-7) and Cleveland St. Ignatius (14-5) will meet in the other semifinal June 3 at Ashland.
Jerome defeated host Olentangy Liberty 12-7 in the Region 1 final May 29.
Watterson boys, DeSales girls win Division II regionals
Junior defender Joe Hayes, sophomore midfielder Dash Hoy and freshman attacker Kaden Hoy each scored twice, and senior attacker Ryan Grim added a goal and three assists as the top-seeded Watterson boys team (17-2) won its second straight Region 7 championship, 10-4 over visiting and second-seeded DeSales (9-11).
Watterson outshot DeSales 35-28 in moving to within two wins of a state title repeat.
The Eagles will face Cincinnati Mariemont in a state semifinal June 2 at Centerville.
Either Watterson or DeSales has won Region 7 every year since 2017.
In the Region 7 girls final, four goals and three assists from senior attacker Campbell Heald and four goals from freshman midfielder Lillie Bogan powered DeSales (19-1) to a 19-3 rout of visiting and second-seeded Columbus Academy (16-5).
Caroline Cross added three goals for the top-seeded and two-time defending champion Stallions, who will play Mariemont in a state semifinal June 3 at Centerville.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Four central Ohio lacrosse teams advance to OHSAA state tournament