American Heritage-Delray falls to Lake Highland Prep in state title

NAPLES ― It was almost like déjà vu American Heritage-Delay girls lacrosse. The worst kind.

The Stallions took the field for the Class 1A state championship match against Lake Highland Prep, and once again watched a comeback fall just short in a 6-5 final ― a result that nearly mirrored last year's loss to the same Highlanders.

Ava Drew capped off a furious three-point fourth quarter comeback, tying the game at 5-5 inside of six minutes to play in the game. When the Stallions touched the ball on the next possession, the Heritage crowd held its collective breath, anticipating a go-ahead score.

That game-winner would never come ― not for Heritage.

Lake Highland Prep milked clock in the final two minutes, ending their possession with a go-ahead goal from Giselle Jasciewicz with just 20 seconds left to play.

American Heritage-Delray's Ava Drew moves the ball upfield during a Class 1A state championship against Lake Highland Prep on May 9, 2026.

The road here: American Heritage-Delray girls lacrosse reaches state final once again

How it happened

Heritage-Delray's Madison Vargas struck first, but Lake Highland Prep's Jasciewicz and Katherine D'Avanzo answered the call with back-to-back goals.

The first swing of momentum came with just 0.8 seconds left on the clock in the first, when the Highlanders managed to put a third goal past Maryland commit Ashley Egbert.

While Hali Horvath would half that early deficit before halftime, that would be the last bit of good news for Heritage for the duration of the third quarter, as puzzling out Highlanders keeper Sinthya Quiroz proved to be quite the task.

Heritage took ownership of the fourth quarter with a three-goal rally, turning a 5-2 deficit into a tied game. But the sixth goal remained just out of reach as time ran out.