Nation Ford girls’ lacrosse team ranked No. 1

On Senior Night, the then second-ranked Nation Ford Falcons girls’ lacrosse team struggled early against 14th ranked A.C. Flora before rallying to win 12-7 last week.

Since that win, the Falcons moved up to No. 1 in the S.C. rankings and now face rival Fort Mill Thursday.

Against A.C. Flora, Nation Ford was led by junior Samantha McNeil, who scored four goals. Nation Ford scored 11 unanswered goals between the first and second half to move passed A.C. Flora and improve to 11-1 on the season.

“A.C. Flora is always a tough game,” said Nation Ford head coach Tom McNeil.

“The seniors this year have really stepped up and inspired the players around them. Next week (against Fort Mill) will be a big challenge. Hopefully we will step up and meet it.”

A.C. Flora scored first, accidentally, on an own goal by Nation Ford less than a minute into the game. The Columbia-based Falcons came back to score about four minutes later to extend their lead over the local Falcons. A.C. Flora continued to control the offense and added another goal two minutes later to put them up 3-0 early. After winning another face off, the visiting Falcons went down and scored seconds later to force a reeling Nation Ford team into a time out.

After the breather, the home team Falcons won the face off and got several good looks at the Flora goal, but failed to convert in the early going. Nation Ford found it harder to get goals, as the A.C. Flora goalie provided a formidable defense in the early going.

The home Falcons struggled to hold onto the ball, especially near the net. They also struggled with turnovers near the net, but despite the miscues, Nation Ford did start controlling possession. Those possessions finally paid off as senior Alexis Walden got Nation Ford on the scoreboard with about 10:45 left in the first half.

A.C. Flora came right back however, and added a fifth goal, putting Nation Ford four back as Flora continued to push the pace. The visiting Falcons scored on a breakaway with about seven minutes left in the first half.

Nation Ford picked up a second goal of the first half with about 5:30 left, this time coming from freshman Jacqueline Harris. Walden put Nation Ford right back in it after scoring her second goal some 26 seconds later to make it 6-3.

That quickly led to A.C. Flora calling its own time out to regroup.

The home Falcons kept the pressure on and continued to cut into the deficit as McNeil scored with just over three minutes left in the half. That’s when the flood gates opened for Nation Ford as senior Rachel Denny scored just 35 seconds later. McNeil added her second goal of the half with about 20 seconds left and that tied the game at 6-6 heading into the break.

Nation Ford scored 19 seconds into the second half to get its first lead of the game as McNeil picked up the hat trick. Nation Ford controlled possession for the majority of the early going in the second half as McNeil continued to be a thorn in A.C. Flora’s side, scoring her fourth goal of the game just under the 17-minute mark.

Denny got her second goal of the game for Nation Ford with about 12 minutes left to extend the home Falcons’ lead to a three-goal cushion. Senior Megan Gallagher added to the Nation Ford score with another goal a minute later. Harris added another goal for Nation Ford, her second of the game, with about 4:30 left and Walden got herself a hat trick with about 1:45 for Nation Ford.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Nation Ford girls’ lacrosse team ranked No. 1."