The high school lacrosse season is heating up with high-stakes matchups this week as the region standings take shape.

This week will feature a key contest between Chapin and Lexington. Both the Eagles and Wildcats girls and boys lacrosse teams are undefeated in region play entering this week and sit atop the standings. The Wildcat boys will host the Eagles Thursday, while the girls travel to Chapin.

Lexington’s girls currently hold a half-game advantage over Chapin in the region standings, sitting at 4-0 while the Eagles are 3-0. Their one and only meeting in the regular season could decide the region champion should both teams win out, but there are still plenty of games left to go. 

Both teams have looked dominant at points this season, outscoring opponents by a wide margin with stellar play on offense and defense. 

Lexington is fresh off two major wins over Spring Valley and Irmo. The Wildcats defeated the Vikings 23-4 before beating the Yellow Jackets 23-1. 

Lilly Sundell has been on a tear for the Wildcats, averaging almost five goals a game and getting her teammates involved with multiple assists. 

Chapin defeated River Bluff and Blythewood last week. The Eagles beat the Bengals 17-4 and then traveled to River Bluff and beat the Gators in a close contest 11-7. 

Both Lexington and Chapin have scored at least 10 goals in every game this season except their lone losses, which both came against Oceanside. The Eagles have the biggest offensive performance of the season thanks to a 32-1 victory over White Knoll, but the Wildcats have had more constant offensive explosions, scoring at least 20 goals six times this season to Chapin’s one. 

Like the girls, the matchup between the boys promises to be interesting. The Eagles and Wildcats are both 3-0 in region games and looking to shake off an up-and-down start in non-region games. 

The two teams are a combined 4-10 in non-region games but have played very well against conference competition. They both currently sit on top of the standings, ahead of fellow Lexington County rivals River Bluff and Dutch Fork. 

With two region games apiece after their meeting, this game will decide who is favored to win the region down the stretch. The pair are no strangers to competing against each other for the region title after finishing as the top two teams in the two most recent seasons. Lexington won the title last year after going 7-0. Chapin won the year before after finishing 8-0.

While the games between Chapin and Lexington deserve a lot of attention, other notable games are being played this week that are worth mentioning. 

The River Bluff boys are looking to separate themselves from the other teams in the middle and compete with Lexington and Chapin. The Gators are 2-1 in region play with a loss to Chapin but have a game against Lexington scheduled in a few weeks. 

River Bluff holds a slight edge over Dutch Fork after beating the Silver Foxes in their meeting earlier this season. Dutch Fork is 2-2 in conference games, sitting ahead of winless Blythewood, Spring Valley and Irmo. 

Both the Gators and Silver Foxes are in action this week and wins would help them pull closer to those teams above them. 

Dutch Fork and River Bluff’s girls teams are also the third and fourth-place teams in region entering this week. However, the teams below them have more wins and opportunities to jump them. 

Spring Valley and Irmo are the only teams in the conference to not have won a region game. Irmo is 0-10 overall and is the only team that has yet to win a game at all this season.  Irmo and Spring Valley will play each other this Thursday to see who will earn their first region win. 

Big performances 

Maddie Banford scored eight goals in an 18-3 Dutch Fork win over White Knoll. 

Brooke Holmes found the back of the net seven times as the Chapin girls team beat Blythewood. 

Kenny Chandler scored two goals and won all 11 of his faceoffs in White Knoll’s win over Westside. 

Sean Egan had seven goals and three assists in the Dutch Fork boys’ win over White Knoll.

Lilly Sundell finished with five goals and four assists in Lexington’s 23-4 win over Spring Valley.

Malachi Merkovsky scored five goals as Chapin beat River Bluff 18-5. 

Last week’s scoreboard 

Chapin boys - Blythewood (15-1, W), River Bluff (18-5, W), A.C. Flora (13-12, L)

Chapin girls - Blythewood (17-4, W), River Bluff (11-7, W)

Dutch Fork boys - Fort Mill (14-1, L), White Knoll (17-13, W)

Dutch Fork girls - Irmo (23-2, W), White Knoll (18-3, W), Byrnes (16-9, L)

Lexington boys - Spring Valley (10-1, W), Boiling Springs (14-7, L), Greenbrier (15-8, W)

Lexington girls - Spring Valley (23-4, W), Irmo (23-1, W)

River Bluff boys - Chapin (18-5, L), Fort Mill (9-5, L)

River Bluff girls - Aiken (18-6, W), Chapin (11-7, L), St. James (17-7, W)

White Knoll boys - Dutch Fork (17-13, L), Westside (18-1, L)

White Knoll girls - Nation Ford (17-5, L), Dutch Fork (18-3, L), Catawba Ridge (19-1, L)

Irmo girls - Dutch Fork (23-2, L), Lexington (23-1, L), Trinity Collegiate (8-7, L)