How Spartanburg girls lacrosse won Upper State with top scorer playing defense
How Spartanburg girls lacrosse won Upper State with top scorer playing defense
Todd Shanesy, Greenville NewsTue, May 5, 2026 at 9:09 AM UTC
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Evers Morris, the all-time leading scorer for Spartanburg girls lacrosse, switched to defense May 4 in the Class 5A Division 1 high school state semifinals.
“It was a little nerve-wracking. I don’t consider myself the best defender,” she said. “I like to stay on offense.”
But with J.L. Mann's team smothering Morris, she simply stepped back across midfield into a defensive role, and No. 1 seed Spartanburg managed to rout J.L. Mann 18-3 in the SCHSL Upper State championship at Viking Stadium.
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“They tried to take out our best scorer,” Spartanburg coach Aubrie Lauderdale said. “It didn’t work.”
The Vikings (17-1) will play for their first state title at 3:30 p.m. ET May 9 at Irmo High School against Lower State winner Lexington, which beat River Bluff 12-6.
Morris this season has 109 goals and 147 points, three points behind state leader Madi Pharr of Aiken, and surely will be in front by the end of the championship game. Morris has a school-record 250 goals despite missing her entire freshman season because of injury. The Winthrop signee had future teammates in attendance to cheer for her.
“Tonight, she got taken out of the picture a little bit,” Lauderdale said. “J.L. Mann played great defense on her. But our other six attackers really stepped up.”
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Senior Addie Usry led the way with five goals to match a career high she set March 11 in a 16-4 win, also against J.L. Mann. Senior Saffy Evans had four goals.
“Evers is an incredible player. She’s an incredible leader,” Usry said. “She has great field vision and knows how to organize the offense and keep us together. She was being face-guarded tonight and she handled it perfectly.”
“They were the first team to stick with the face guard,” Morris said. “They were shutting me down with a girl in my face. Their game plan was to keep me from getting the ball. My teammates immediately adjusted. We have girls on this team who can score no matter what. I watched my teammates work together. I was kind of taken out of the game, but I watched my teammates step up and take total control. We dominated.”
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Morris still finished with four goals. Playing in the far back during the first half, she intercepted an outlet pass from the Patriots' goalie and saw nothing but 35 yards of artificial grass to the net.
“I almost pulled a muscle,” Morris said. “That was an awesome feeling, just knowing that I had the speed and I had the open lane. I wasn’t going anywhere but goal. When you’re being face-guarded like that, any time you have the chance, you want to contribute.”
Todd Shanesy covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at todd.shanesy@shj.com. Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Spartanburg girls lacrosse reaches SCHSL 5A Division 1 championship game
Source: “AOL Sports”
