‘Cats Return To State Semis

Rockbridge Girls Lax Cruises Past Vikings In Quarterfinals

With another potential showdown against Western Albemarle looming, the Rockbridge County High School girls lacrosse team stayed focused on the task at hand in Friday’s Virginia High School League Class 4 state quarterfinal matchup with Loudoun Valley.

There was no looking ahead for the Wildcats, who cruised past the Vikings to record a 20-5 victory at The Fields at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, booking a spot in the state semifinals for a sixth consecutive season.

RC and Western, the threetime defending state champions, were slated to face off in Crozet last night. The Wildcats have lost to the Warriors (16-1-1) in each of the past five state tournaments, including back-to-back defeats in the championship game in 2024 and 2025. Visit thenewsgazette. com for updates on last night’s semifinal.

On Friday, Lola Mulitalo scored a career-high nine goals and added two assists as RC (17-1) rolled to a lopsided victory in its quarterfinal contest against Loudoun Valley (10-8).

Emma McKnight added five goals and two assists for the Wildcats, who entered the Class 4 bracket as the Region 4D champions. Anna Nye tallied three goals and four assists, and she also spurred RC to another dominant performance on the circle with 18 draw controls – just one away from tying her own school record.

Alexis Lutz scored three goals and Jordan Phillips posted three assists for the Vikings, who came in as the runners-up from Region 4C. Frankie Cavalieri made nine saves in goal for Loudoun Valley, which was making just its second state tournament appearance in the last 12 seasons.

Mulitalo credited her junior teammate and co-captain, the all-region defender Braelyn Polly, for keeping the Wildcats focused on the matchup with the Vikings – and not looking past their quarterfinal opponent.

“She [Polly] just really helped us focus that our games that we’re playing now lead up to June 13,” said Mulitalo, referring to the date of the Class 4 state championship. “No matter who the team is … we need to play our best to be ready for the games ahead of us.”

RC tallied the first four goals of the evening, getting two markers apiece from Mulitalo and McKnight – with all four scores coming in a span of just 58 seconds – to assume a 4-0 advantage with 9:57 to play in the opening quarter.

Although the Vikings battled back to within 5-2 on a goal from Sadie Blackmon at the 6:53 mark, the Wildcats countered by extending the gap to 9-2 by the end of the first quarter. The ’Cats then cashed in for three goals – including two more from Mulitalo – on a Loudoun Valley yellow card early in the second quarter, going on to lead 16-2 by the half.

RC’s command of the draw circle led to a string of extra looks on the offensive end, and the Wildcats made the most of that advantage.

“When you have possession and you only have to run 50 yards – and then we can immediately get into our play in the motion – it’s just huge, and it really saves your middies,” RC head coach Susan Nye said.

Those midfielders – McKnight, Anna Nye and Laura Ingram – are integral to the Wildcats’ game plan: they comprise the starting draw circle unit, and they also make massive contributions on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field.

“They’re always hustling back as much on defense as they are on offense,” coach Nye said of the ’Cats’ midfield trio. “Those three, it doesn’t matter which direction they’re going; they’re going to go 100 percent.”

RC outscored the Vikings 4-1 in the third period, pushing the lead to 20-3. With the outcome already determined, a pair of fourth-quarter goals for Loudoun Valley provided the final margin.

Ingram totaled one goal, two assists, two ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Wildcats, while Adrianna Grue and Sadie Edwards also scored. Ellie McKnight played the first three quarters in goal for RC, recording four saves with three goals allowed. Polly had three ground balls and one caused turnover on defense, Anna Nye added two ground balls and two takeaways, and Tadara Cooper collected two ground balls.

The Wildcats’ reward is another shot at Western, which remains the only public school to defeat RC across the last six years. In the teams’ regular-season meeting on March 24, also in Crozet, a shorthanded ’Cats squad nearly battled back from an 8-2 deficit in the second half, eventually falling by a final count of 8-5.

While there are strategic adjustments for RC to make, one of the Wildcats’ senior leaders believes that the biggest factor may be her team’s mentality.

“For sure, confidence” is the biggest key to beating Western, Mulitalo said. “We have been let down for a good amount of years, and I think that’s gotten to us a lot, but we know that we can do it.”

The winner of last night’s contest will meet either Hanover or Dominion in the state championship game, which will take place at Heritage High School in Leesburg on Saturday.

‘For sure, confidence is the biggest key to beating Western. We have been let down for a good amount of years, and I think that’s gotten to us a lot, but we know that we can do it.’ - Lola Mulitalo