LEXINGTON 鈥 Rockbridge County spent two straight practices working on its defensive scheme. For as well as the Wildcats have performed in postseason play, they hadn鈥檛 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鈥檚 semifinal round.
鈥淭hat was the difference in this game,鈥 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.
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The Warriors have won the previous four matchups, capped by a 12-8 victory in last season鈥檚 state championship game, and they secured a 12-10 win over Rockbridge when the teams opened this season on March 18 in Lexington.
鈥淲estern has been our nemesis now for five years. I think we didn鈥檛 have some players at the beginning of the season,鈥 Nye said, 鈥渁nd we also have some new plays, some new schemes that they haven鈥檛 seen, so I think that鈥檚 going to be pretty incredible.鈥
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鈥檛 able to cut the deficit any closer over the final 12 minutes with Rockbridge maintaining possession and limiting the Indians鈥 chances to one goal on two shots.
鈥淚 think momentum鈥檚 super powerful in this game,鈥 Powhatan coach Laura Camp said, 鈥渁nd when you don鈥檛 have it, it鈥檚 hard to catch up, it鈥檚 hard to get ahead.鈥
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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very crucial,鈥 Mulitalo said. 鈥淎nna has amazing IQ knowing how to take someone鈥檚 defender and she has perfect placement on her assists.鈥
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鈥檚 10-player senior class. Caroline Camp, who had two goals, is heading to Mercer, and Chloe Holt is heading to Longwood.
鈥淭his senior class was amazing,鈥 Laura Camp said. 鈥溾 They鈥檙e a really tight-knit group of girls and we鈥檙e going to really miss them.鈥
Powhatan鈥檚 senior-laden roster didn鈥檛 fold after Rockbridge scored four goals in the opening five minutes. The Indians rallied to even the score at 4 on Dowdy鈥檚 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.
鈥淚 wanted to win it and go to states,鈥 Mulitalo said of what motivated her during the second quarter.
