LEXINGTON — Rockbridge County spent two straight practices working on its defensive scheme. For as well as the Wildcats have performed in postseason play, they hadn’t faced an opponent with the offensive power that Powhatan brought into the Class 4 girls lacrosse semifinals.
The defense rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter with a second straight berth to the state championship game on the line.
Rockbridge locked down Powhatan over the final 12 minutes and emerged with a 15-12 triumph in Tuesday’s semifinal round.
“That was the difference in this game,” Rockbridge coach Susan Nye said.
Rockbridge (16-2) will face a familiar foe in its second straight championship game appearance.
Western Albemarle (16-1) defeated Dominion, 16-2, in another semifinal on Tuesday, and the Wildcats and Warriors will meet in the state tournament for the fifth straight season.
People are also reading…
The Warriors have won the previous four matchups, capped by a 12-8 victory in last season’s state championship game, and they secured a 12-10 win over Rockbridge when the teams opened this season on March 18 in Lexington.
“Western has been our nemesis now for five years. I think we didn’t have some players at the beginning of the season,” Nye said, “and we also have some new plays, some new schemes that they haven’t seen, so I think that’s going to be pretty incredible.”
The Wildcats needed their defense in the fourth quarter after the Indians (17-1) trimmed a 12-5 deficit to 13-11 entering the fourth quarter.
Powhatan wasn’t able to cut the deficit any closer over the final 12 minutes with Rockbridge maintaining possession and limiting the Indians’ chances to one goal on two shots.
“I think momentum’s super powerful in this game,” Powhatan coach Laura Camp said, “and when you don’t have it, it’s hard to catch up, it’s hard to get ahead.”
Rockbridge junior attack Lola Mulitalo, a Kennesaw State recruit, scored two of her eight goals in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats pounced on their limited opportunities.
Her first goal in the fourth quarter came off an assist from Anna Nye that extended the advantage to 14-11 with a little more than nine minutes left in the game.
“It’s very crucial,” Mulitalo said. “Anna has amazing IQ knowing how to take someone’s defender and she has perfect placement on her assists.”
Nye had one goal and five assists.
Josephine Caldwell and Emma McKnight had two goals apiece.
Coastal Carolina signee Erica Krauss, Blakely Dowdy and Emma Terry had three goals apiece for Powhatan. Krauss added two assists.
Krauss is one of three Division I prospects among Powhatan’s 10-player senior class. Caroline Camp, who had two goals, is heading to Mercer, and Chloe Holt is heading to Longwood.
“This senior class was amazing,” Laura Camp said. “… They’re a really tight-knit group of girls and we’re going to really miss them.”
Powhatan’s senior-laden roster didn’t fold after Rockbridge scored four goals in the opening five minutes. The Indians rallied to even the score at 4 on Dowdy’s unassisted goal a little more than two minutes into the second quarter.
Mulitalo scored 15 seconds later for the go-ahead goal. She added three more goals as part of an 8-1 run as the Wildcats took a 12-5 lead late in the first half.
“I wanted to win it and go to states,” Mulitalo said of what motivated her during the second quarter.
