RC Girls Lax Dominance Continues
The Rockbridge County High School girls lacrosse team picked up two more convincing victories at home last week, routing Jefferson Forest 23-3 and E.C. Glass 21-5 to run their winning streak to five games.
Even by the Wildcats’ high standards, the start to Thursday’s win over the Hilltoppers was remarkable: RC (7-1) scored four goals in the opening 45 seconds of the contest – getting two each from Anna Nye and Lola Mulitalo – and led 7-0 inside of two minutes.
By that point, Nye and Emma McKnight had combined to win all seven draws, and Glass (2-4) hadn’t even touched the ball.
“We’ve been doing a really good job about throwing the ball faster,” RC head coach Susan Nye said. “We’ve done a better job of running it – looking to pass first instead of run first – and I think that’s made the difference.”
Anna Nye finished with four goals, seven assists and 18 draw controls, dishing out her 100th career assist. Mulitalo, who totaled four markers in the opening 7-0 spurt, tallied seven goals and one assist. McKnight chipped in four goals, two assists and three draws, while Adrianna Grue had two goals and one helper, and Sarah Edgar posted three assists. Nye and Tadara Cooper paced the defensive effort with three caused turnovers apiece.
Reed Marks tallied three goals for the Hilltoppers, and Corinne Cox recorded three caused turnovers.
The game was part of a lacrosse tripleheader, which featured a celebration of 50 years of prep lacrosse in Lexington. Though the girls’ program doesn’t date back quite that far, 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of RC’s first varsity squad in 1996.
And there is a direct connection between the inaugural season and the current era: Susan Nye was the ’Cats’ first head coach, serving in that role from 1996-1998. She returned to the position in 2019 and has since led the Wildcats to five straight trips to the Virginia High School League Class 4 state tournament. RC has fallen to Western Albemarle in each of the last two state championship games.
Nye has kept in touch with several players from her original stint at the helm, and a number of RC lacrosse alumnae from the past three decades were in attendance on Thursday.
“To be able to see a number of the girls who I was able to coach, and I’ve actually kept in contact with – it was pretty special that they made the trip back,” Coach Nye said.
RC 23, JF 3
RC started off the week with a 23-3 victory over Jefferson Forest last Monday.
Seven different players recorded multiple points for the Wildcats, led by five goals and four assists from McKnight. Lexi Samante had four goals and one assist, while Laura Ingram totaled three goals and two helpers, and Grue finished with three markers and one assist. Sofia Gaydos and Sadie Edwards each posted two goals and two assists, and Anna Nye contributed one score and three assists.
RC also amassed a 22-5 advantage on the draw circle, with Nye collecting 16 draws and Ingram snaring the other six. McKnight paced the defense with three caused turnovers.
Paige Capsello scored two goals for the Cavaliers (2-4), and Brooke Capsello made six saves.
With Mulitalo, RC’s all-time leading goal scorer, out due to a minor injury, several other players stepped up on the offensive end. McKnight had four goals and two assists in the first quarter alone as the Wildcats built up a 12-1 lead by the end of the opening frame.
“Emma McKnight never quits. She always hustles,” Coach Nye said. “It doesn’t matter what the score is – she’s fighting for a ground ball, she fights for a draw. Her finishes, too, she’s placing it so well – even faking before she shoots.” Ingram, a transfer from Knoxville Catholic High School in Tennessee, joined the RC program right as the season was getting underway. A defender by trade, she continues to acclimate well to the Wildcats’ system at both ends of the field.
“Each practice, each game, she’s just getting more comfortable, more confident,” Coach Nye said of Ingram. “She has tremendous speed, and you can’t teach speed. She has a defensive mind, but she’s doing really well with working on the cuts, and just her finishing on shots. She’s been a huge asset.”
RC was scheduled to face Blacksburg at home on Monday. The Wildcats will return to the field next Monday, when the varsity team plays host to William Byrd at 7 p.m., following the 4:30 p.m. junior varsity game between RC and St. Anne’s-Belfield School.
