Familiar Foe Stymies ‘Cats

Western Beats RC 14-4 In Class 4 Lax Rematch

The Rockbridge County High School girls lacrosse team has been one of the most successful in the state over the past five years. But the Wildcats still can’t get over the speed bump that is Western Albemarle.

Powered by a dominant second quarter, the Warriors claimed their third consecutive Virginia High School League Class 4 state championship – and their second straight at the expense of the ’Cats – with a 14-4 victory on an oppressively humid Saturday at Charlottesville High School.

Annie Allhusen recorded five goals and one assist to pace Western (17-1). Genevieve Hathaway added four goals and one assist for the Warriors, and McLean Stokes collected 10 draw controls.

Anna Nye had one goal, one assist, three draws and a pair of caused turnovers for the Wildcats (15-3), who suffered their fifth consecutive state tournament defeat at the hands of the school from Crozet.

RC lost to Western in three straight Class 4 semifinals from 2021-2023, and the Warriors beat the ’Cats 12-8 in last year’s title game in Charlottesville. When the teams met in Lexington back on March 18 of this season, Western squeaked out a much narrower 12-10 victory.

But Saturday’s game capped off a remarkably dominant postseason run for Western, which outscored its five playoff opponents by a combined 86-24 margin. By establishing double-digit leads, the Warriors produced a running clock in all three of their state tournament contests, defeating Hanover 18-5 in the quarterfinals and routing Dominion 16-2 in the semifinals. “The team played really well together and has been building all season,” Western head coach Peggy Williams said. “I think you probably saw the teamwork with the passing and the assists for the goals – and then how proud the defense has been; they haven’t allowed many goals in the postseason. It’s just been really exciting for the whole team.”

After the Wildcats had racked up 38 goals across their first two state tournament contests – beating John Champe 23-6 in the quarterfinals and surviving Powhatan 15-12 in the semifinals, with both games taking place in Lexington – offense was scarce against Western’s defense in the final.

Lola Mulitalo, who set the RC career goal-scoring record early in her junior season this spring – but who was limited to a single marker on Saturday – praised the Warriors for their performance.

“In the end, they just wanted it more,” Mulitalo said. “I don’t want to say we didn’t want it – because I know we all d id – b ut t hey d efinitely showed up, and we just did not bring our ‘A’ game today.”

The contest started off well enough for the Wildcats, as Josie Caldwell put RC ahead inside the opening minute of

‘I’m very proud of us. Powhatan [in the state semifinal] was a good win. We never know if we’re going to make it here every year – so I’m happy that we got here, and I’m just hoping next year we’ll get a win.’ - Lola Mulitalo the first period. After back-to-back 8-meter goals from Allhusen gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead, Mulitalo scored from a Nye assist to tie things up at 2-2 with 6:45 remaining in the quarter.

But it was all Warriors from there. Camille Love put Western in front for good with 1:20 to go in the opening stanza, scoring from a Hathaway assist to make it 3-2.

And as often happens in the sport, Saturday’s result hinged on draw controls. With Nye in the circle, the Wildcats have become accustomed to racking up lopsided totals in that department, turning those extra possessions into big advantages on the scoreboard.

Draw controls were even at 3-3 after the opening frame. But with Taylor Florin taking the draw and Stokes and Hathaway racing around the circle, the Warriors produced an 8-1 advantage in the second period. They turned that into a similar 8-0 edge on the scoreboard during the stanza, opening up an insurmountable 11-2 halftime lead.

“Stokes, No. 7, she knew where it was going, how it was going to bounce,” RC head coach Susan Nye said. “We were actually getting some of the direction, and even the placement, and she was phenomenal at how she read it.”

Going into the championship, the Warriors thought they had a good chance to neutralize Anna Nye and the Wildcats’ draw circle unit, but even they seemed surprised by how things unfolded there. For the game, Western finished with an overall 16-6 margin in draw controls.

“Taylor Florin has done a great job, and then McLean Stokes and Gigi [Genevieve] Hathaway on the circle have really had a quick first step,” Williams said. “We didn’t expect it to go as well as it did today, but we’ll definitely take it.”

The Wildcats still had some chances early in the second quarter. But Western goalie Maizey McCarthy, who saved five of the nine shots on goal that she faced, made two key stops on 8-meter chances for Mulitalo within the first half of the stanza. The Warriors proceeded to score at the other end after both saves, getting a transition goal from Allhusen and a marker from Love out of the settled offense to stretch the lead to 5-2.

Coach Nye acknowledged the momentum swing of that sequence. “We had talked all season, really, about that goalie, that she was so incredible low,” Nye said of McCarthy. “She got both of them. They were very good saves.”

Despite the heat, things quickly began to snowball in Western’s favor. Hathaway scored two player-up goals on an RC yellow card, pushing the margin to 7-2 with 4:32 to go. And with the draws continuing to pile up, the Warriors’ offense kept humming at even strength, notching four more markers prior to the intermission.

“In the beginning, I think we were a little bit frazzled – not as composed as we could have been – but as the game went on, we had more composure,” Williams said. “With more composure, we started finishing more of our opportunities.”

Western kept the pressure up for most of the second half, winning the first five draws after the break and holding the Wildcats off the scoreboard until deep into the fourth quarter. Florin assisted all three of the Warriors’ third-period goals – two from Allhusen and one for Perry Hume – as the lead swelled to 14-2.

While it was far too late to impact the outcome, RC showed some moxie down the stretch, and consecutive goals from Ruby Goodhart with 5:22 to go and Nye at the 4:21 mark broke the Wildcats’ scoring drought and provided the final margin.

Love posted three goals and one assist for Western. Hume notched a pair of markers, while Florin finished with four assists and four draw controls. Alyssa Hunter had four stops in goal for RC.

The loss provided a disappointing conclusion to another spectacular season for the Wildcats, who secured their fifth consecutive Region 4D crown and navigated their way back to the state title game for a second straight year.

RC will graduate a seven-player senior class that includes three regular starters: Caldwell, Hunter and defender Emily Humphreys. But the Wildcats are slated to bring back a contingent that, among other stalwarts, features the last two regional players of the year – Mulitalo in 2024 and Nye this spring – so the future still looks quite bright.

“We’re very heavy on the sophomores and juniors – and some key freshmen that are coming up,” Coach Nye said. “I think next year’s a good year for us.”

And Saturday’s defeat should only provide an extra incentive for the Wildcats as they try to claw their way to another state tournament run in 2026 – but of course, they’ll be hoping for a different finish.

“I’m very proud of us. Powhatan [in the state semifinal] was a good win,” Mulitalo said. “We never know if we’re going to make it here every year – so I’m happy that we got here, and I’m just hoping next year we’ll get a win.”