Will the central Ohio lacrosse teams continue their recent dominance of the OHSAA state tournament?

Six lacrosse teams from central Ohio will travel north and west for the state semifinals this week, and they all hope to come home Friday and Saturday with a spot in the finals at Historic Crew Stadium.

But despite central Ohio’s dominance in recent years, this spring is different.

All six state semifinals, evenly split between boys and girls, come from three schools: DeSales, Olentangy Liberty and Upper Arlington.

Central Ohio teams have won the past eight Division I girls championships and four consecutive major school titles on the boys side. The finals are Friday for girls and Saturday for boys.

Here’s a look at the state semifinals from a central Ohio perspective:

Olentangy Liberty, Upper Arlington near girls final rematch

OCC-Central rivals UA and Liberty are one win away from a rematch of the 2023 Division I finals, a match UA won 14-10, and both appear to have several obstacles in their way.

Second-ranked and 11-time state champion UA ​​(20-2) faces the first state qualifier Kings Mills Kings (19-3) at Wittenberg University on Tuesday at 7 p.m., with No. 3 Liberty (18-4) placing fourth . ranked Hudson (19-2) at the same time at Ashland University.

Liberty coach Tim Bosco placed little to no stock in the Patriots’ 15-10 win over Hudson on April 20, nor in the Explorers’ 17-5 semifinal loss last year.

“We had it easy last year, but not this year,” Bosco said. “(Hudson has) improved a lot. We played them at home…the score doesn’t matter. We will be ready. We are known. It’s the third time we’ve seen them in a year. I’m proud and honored to go back to that game.”

Liberty handed top-ranked New Albany its lone loss in Region 1 on Thursday, 10-9. Corinna Hilmas led the way with four goals.

That same night, Lilly Boyle’s six goals and five from Mary Kate Basil propelled UA past Worthington Kilbourne 13-7 in the Region 3 final and into the 21st state tournament.

UA defeated Liberty 9-8 on April 16 in their OCC-Central meeting.

Kings is riding a seven-match winning streak, coming off a Region 4 tournament that eliminated No. 1 and 2 seeds Cincinnati Sycamore and Springboro in a quarterfinal and semifinal, respectively.

DeSales (17-5) and Cincinnati Indian Hill (16-3) will be locked in a showdown between the state’s top and second-ranked Division II teams, respectively, on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Dayton Chaminade Julienne.

The Stallions got a goal in overtime from Caroline Cross on Friday to beat defending champion Watterson 12-11 in the Region 7 final. DeSales and Watterson have been responsible for the past seven regional titles, and the Stallions are two wins away from their first championship since 2019.

Bay Village Bay (17-4) and Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown (16-4) meet in the other semifinal.

New champions will be crowned in Ohio boys lacrosse

Another case of postseason veterans versus newcomers comes in a Division II semifinal on Wednesday at Chaminade Julienne, where DeSales (14-3) seeks a third straight state final against Bellbrook (13-3). Bellbrook records its first regional title.

DeSales was the 2022 state champion and 2023 runner-up, falling to Olmsted Falls in the finals.

It took three overtimes for DeSales to beat Watterson in Friday’s Region 7 final, where Blake Carawan’s goal clinched a 14-13 win, but the road to state was even tougher than the one fraught with an injury-riddled regular season.

“We’ve had guys in one game or the other all season,” coach Matt Triplet said. “(Senior defenseman) Cooper Simpson (had) been out all year, since the second game, and he’s finally back. We don’t have Band-Aids everywhere. Every team has to find its identity, and these guys are figuring that out.

“It was really inconsistent. You can’t build that chemistry unless you play all these games together.”

The winner will face Hunting Valley University School (17-2) or Toledo St. John’s (13-7) in Saturday’s final.

Division I will have a new champion after No. 2 Liberty (21-1) eliminated Dublin Jerome 15-10 in Friday’s Region 1 final. The Patriots play North Canton Hoover (19-2) on Wednesday at Ashland University, and coach Jason Godwin credited part of Liberty’s first-place finish in the state since 2017 to a style adjustment that Jerome emulates.

“Pressure right out of the gate on the drive, just a little bit more aggressive,” Godwin said. “It’s about dealing with pressure and playing fast. It came out this season and I knew this group would be able to do it.

A fifth consecutive state semifinal between top-ranked UA (19-3) and No. 3 Cincinnati St. Xavier (19-3) takes place Wednesday in Wittenberg. The Bears are 2-2 in those games, including an 8-7 overtime loss a season ago, and defeated St. Xavier 11-10 in the season opener March 17 at Ohio State.

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This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: DeSales, Liberty, Upper Arlington ready for Ohio State lacrosse tournament