Tuesday, March 18 -- Western Albemarle fended off Rockbridge County High School to claim a 12-10 win in Lexington in the girls lacrosse season opener for both teams.
Genevieve Hathaway tallied three goals and two assists to pace the Warriors in a rematch of last year's VHSL Class 4 state championship game, which Western won by a 12-8 count at Charlottesville High School.
Taylor Florin added one goal and four assists for the Warriors in Tuesday's opener, but she received a red card and was ejected from the game midway through the third period. Maizey McCarthy tallied eight saves in goal for Western, including six after halftime.
Josie Caldwell and Emma McKnight posted three goals apiece for the Wildcats. Lola Mulitalo tallied two goals and two assists for RC, while Anna Nye netted two goals, one assist and seven draw controls, and Alyssa Hunter recorded seven saves.
Western used a 6-goal run to build up a 9-3 lead in the second period, and the Warriors held a 10-5 edge at halftime.
Nye and McKnight scored early in the third period to trim the margin to 10-7. Florin's red card came with 7:26 to go, and McKnight scored again right away to make it 10-8. But that was the only offense that RC could produce during a 7-minute player advantage.
Marchelle Van der Westhuizen bagged a player-up goal for Western with just 0.2 seconds remaining in the quarter, and an 8-meter score from Hathaway with 6:59 to go pushed the margin back to 12-8.
The Wildcats rallied late, getting a goal from McKnight with 3:01 remaining and another from Mulitalo with 2:20 left to pull within 12-10. But McCarthy made two key saves in the final minute of regulation to help the Warriors hang on for the win.
Carter Stokes tallied two goals and one assist for Western, while Van der Westhuizen and Ann Alhusen chipped in two goals apiece. Emily Humphreys totaled four caused turnovers for the RC defense.
The Wildcats will travel to Albemarle on Friday, where action begins with the junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m.
