Mulitalo, Nye Set Career Lacrosse Records
The Rockbridge County High School girls lacrosse team extended its winning streak to six games with a pair of victories last week, routing William Byrd on the road and pulling away from Salem in the second half of a matchup in Lexington.
On Thursday, Lola Mulitalo and Anna Nye scored six goals apiece, and both players set career records as the Wildcats beat the Spartans 14-5 to improve to 7-2 overall. Mulitalo became the program’s all-time points leader, while Nye collected 14 draws to establish a new RC standard.
Both marks were previously held by Kendall Nye, Anna’s older sister, who graduated in 2022 and now plays at the collegiate level for Liberty University. Kendall Nye and former RC standout goalie Rachel Hines, a 2023 RC graduate, were both in the starting lineup for Saturday’s Atlantic Sun Conference championship game, when the Flames defeated Coastal Carolina 14-8 to secure the program’s first-ever NCAA Division I tournament berth.
Back on the high school side, Bailey Redford tallied 15 saves for the Spartans (5-4) in Thursday’s contest, and the junior goalie almost single-handedly kept her team in the game throughout the first half. She made nine stops before the break, including a phenomenal diving save on Mulitalo when the score was tied at 1-1 late in the first quarter.
“She’s a very talented goalie – she’s very aggressive – but we knew that about her,” RC head coach Susan Nye said of Redford, adding that her team’s ability to “fake first” opened things up for the offense as the night went on. “It really wasn’t a placement – it was faking first, getting her to commit and then place it,” Coach Nye added.
The Wildcats took the lead for good on Mulitalo’s second goal, which made it 2-1 at the 11:16 mark of the second period. Nye added back-toback tallies 12 seconds apart to push the advantage to 4-1 with 9:08 remaining in the frame, and RC would carry a 6-3 lead into halftime.
The ’Cats notched the first four markers of the third quarter, getting two goals from Nye and one apiece from Mulitalo and Emma Johnson during that span to pad the margin to 10-3. Salem never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
Mia Potter led the Spartans’ offense with three goals and one assist, and A.C. Thomas posted two goals and three draw controls. Ruby Goodhart chipped in one goal for the Wildcats, while Nye and Emma McKnight notched one assist apiece.
Both Mulitalo and Anna Nye have broken career records prior to their senior seasons. Mulitalo, who now has 249 points on 158 goals and 91 assists, has been a lethal goal scorer since her rookie campaign, but the junior has diversified her offensive arsenal by becoming an elite passer as well.
“Lola has an amazing change of direction – and just her calmness when she shoots,” Coach Nye said. “Now that she’s adding all the assists with that, she’s just become such a complete player as an attacker.”
While RC has dominated the draw control statistic in a vast majority of its games in recent years, the Wildcats have put up even more impressive numbers with Anna Nye in the circle. One week after setting the single-game school record with 19 draw controls in a 22-4 win over Cave Spring, the sophomore eclipsed her sister’s career standard by upping her total to 264 draw controls.
“With Anna, she loves the draw, and it’s something that she works on a lot,” Coach Nye said. “She loves being able to get it, whether it’s to her circle or whether it’s to herself.”
RC 21, WB 2
RC downed William Byrd 21-2 in Vinton on Tuesday of last week.
Nye tallied five goals, five caused turnovers and 12 draw controls to lead the Wildcats past the Terriers (5-3). Mulitalo recorded four goals, and Johnson netted four assists. Emily Humphreys led RC with four ground balls, while Nadia Gaydos scooped up two ground balls and Alyssa Hunter made two saves.
The Wildcats were scheduled to visit Blacksburg on Monday. RC will play host to E.C. Glass on Thursday evening, starting with the junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity game scheduled to follow at 7:15. On Monday, the Wildcats will play at Jefferson Forest, starting with JV action at 5 p.m., with the varsity game scheduled to follow at 7.
RC SOPHOMORE midfielder Anna Nye fires a shot on Salem goalie Bailey Redford. Nye scored six goals and collected 14 draw controls, setting a new program record for career draw controls. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
