Taking an early lead was one of Dulaney's biggest goals heading into Tuesday night's Class 4A-3A girls lacrosse state championship game. The Lions believed that would let them play their game and remain in command.

Mission accomplished.

Mackenzie Gandy had five goals and two assists as No. 9 Dulaney scored eight of the first nine goals and went on to a 15-11 win over Leonardtown at Stevenson. The victory gave the Lions their first state championship in 10 years.

Dulaney (17-3) had not reached the state tournament in seven years, and this was the Lions' first championship game appearance since 2007. The school's 2006 state title was the last time a Baltimore County school won a championship.

Leonardtown (19-1) became the first team from Southern Maryland to make it to the finals, but Dulaney quickly took command, scoring on its first four shots and rolling to an 8-1 lead. The Raiders played better and made a few runs but never overcame that fast Dulaney start.

“It was definitely one of our goals today, to jump out early,” said Dulaney coach Kristi Korrow, also the coach in 2006. “We figured that if we allowed them to get a lead on us, they'd probably slow things down. So we knew if we wanted to get our game going and get into a rhythm, [then] having that early start would be important for us.”

The Lions found help from lots of places. Casey O'Grady added three goals while Melanie Gandy (two goals, two assists), Kaitlyn Dabkowski (one goal, three assists) and Annie Sachs (two goals, two assists) all pitched in.

Dulaney hurt Leonardtown in so many ways on offense. The Lions made great passes and timely cuts, and often beat the Raiders to loose balls — all of which led to good scoring chances.

“Everybody had a great game,” Mackenzie Gandy said. “We all were just connecting really well, and we helped each other get the 1-v-1's and taking advantage of what their weaknesses were.”

Leonardtown hurt opponents with a potent offense during the season, scoring at least 10 goals in 18 of its 19 games and averaging 16.7 goals per game. But the Lions did a good job of slowing the Raiders.

Dulaney's double-teams and quickness on defense bothered Leonardtown, and while the Raiders woke up after the slow start, they could not do enough on offense.

The Dulaney offense experienced little trouble getting started. Mackenzie Gandy scored just 1:02 into the game, and teammate Charlotte Lipstein added a goal only 16 seconds later.

Sachs then scored with 21:46 left and concluded a three-goal run in just 2:12. The Lions made it 4-0 on their fourth shot of the game, a goal from Dabkowski with 17:11 left in the half.

Dulaney stretched the lead to 8-1 before the Raiders reeled off four consecutive goals late in the half. Mackenzie Gandy then stopped the Leonardtown run with two goals in the final two minutes, the last coming off a pass from Dabkowski with 6.5?seconds left, which gave the Lions a 10-5 halftime lead.

In the second half, Dulaney pushed the lead to eight before Leonardtown scored the game's final four goals. Chelsea Kibler led the Raiders with four goals and three assists, but it was too late.

“We got off to a little bit of a slow start, that's for sure,” Leonardtown coach Ken McIlhenny said. “At the same time, on the defensive side ... they're quick. They're a very fast team, disciplined team; a real nice team.”