And bust it they did, putting in countless hours of offseason work, hoping to return to the state title game for the fourth time in five seasons. The Cougars will do just that after taking the East Regional title with an 18-11 road win against Cardinal Gibbons. Apex will face Charlotte's Myers Park at 1 p.m. Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary for the state title.

"As soon as we lost last year, we were already working over the summer," Cougars senior Kristi Marks said. "We know what we want, and we're definitely going to get that."

The Cougars won three straight state championships before being denied last season in the sport's first year of being sanctioned by the NCHSAA. With several players from that squad now seniors, this year's team has been on a mission for redemption.

"It was a great game for our girls to have right before the championship," coach Jenn Flaherty said. "We've played better, but luckily we have a few days where we can go away and prepare from that. We had a lot of nerves going on."

Apex will be facing Myers Park for the second time this year, having already defeated the Mustangs 17-9 in a regular-season meeting. But the Cougars have found that facing teams a second time around in the playoffs isn't nearly as easy as in the regular season.

After whipping Gibbons 20-1 in the regular season on the same field, the Crusaders refused to go away Tuesday.

Apex's biggest scare came in the previous round where East Chapel Hill, a team that Apex beat 16-4 during the year, was up 15-11 with 11 minutes left. The Cougars rallied to win 18-15 in overtime.

"We know we have the heart to come back and win even if we're down," said Marks, who is going for her second state championship after starting on the volleyball team. "We play got-your-back lacrosse ... There's never a point in any game where I don't trust who I'm playing with."

Apex's Katie McLaughlin and Katie Wagner led the way for the Cougars with four goals apiece, while Marks and Cawley Bromley had three apiece.