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The Rockbridge County High School girls lacrosse team used a key second-half run to overcome Salem 10-7 on a cold, rainy and windy evening in Lexington last Wednesday.
The Wildcats also added road victories over Franklin County and Cave Spring to their ledger, capping the week on an eightgame winning streak and with a 9-1 overall record.
In Wednesday’s game, McKenzie Hines tallied four goals and one assist to lead the way for the Wildcats. Bailey Stratton registered a hat trick to pace the Spartans, who ended the week at 7-4-1.
RC trailed for most of the first half, and Ella Walker’s goal put Salem ahead 6-5 with 15:16 to play in the second period. But the Wildcats responded by reeling off five consecutive scores to turn the game in their favor.
Between the unusual situation of being behind on the scoreboard – RC’s previous five victories had all come by at least 12 goals – and some adverse weather conditions, the Wildcats may have been pressing too much in the opening stanza.
But they settled back in and controlled play for most of the second half – helped along by a midfield unit that won the last 10 draws of the game after the Spartans had an early 4-3 edge on the circle.
“We had problems picking up a ground ball. We were trying to rush some plays, and we weren’t getting the draw in the first half,” RC head coach Susan Nye said. “The second half, we started getting the draw, and we actually took our time a little bit more on the plays. We were a little more patient.”
Salem jumped in front 2-0 on a pair of 8-meter goals from Zoe Blair. Nala Shearer got the Wildcats on the board from a Hines assist at the 14:57 mark, and Hines tied it 40 seconds later.
The Radford-bound senior midfielder always plays a key role in RC’s success, starting with her expert work on draw controls. Hines had three of those on Wednesday, along with a team-high four caused turnovers.
With some of her teammates putting up big offensive numbers this season, Hines has had some relatively quiet scoring games – but when the Wildcats needed her to step up on Wednesday, she answered the call.
“McKenzie’s our go-to player,” Nye said. “When things are going well, we don’t need her [to score] as much. But when it gets tight in a game, we need her experience; we need her efficiency. … The rest of the team tends to follow when she steps up her game.”
The Spartans responded with three of the next four markers, including two from Stratton, to take a 5-3 lead. Libba Erskine’s goal with seven seconds to go pulled RC to within 5-4 at the half.
After Hines knotted the game again one minute into the second frame, Walker’s 8-meter goal put the Spartans back in front at 6-5 with 15:16 remaining.
But the Wildcats switched into gear down the stretch, starting with a free-position goal from Hines with 11:49 to go. Sophomore Josie Caldwell then stepped up with consecutive 8-meter scores – nearly identical plays in which she pulled Salem goalie Bailey Radford out of position to create a better shooting angle – that gave RC an 8-6 lead with 8:38 left.
“We’ve been working on eights [8-meter arc shots] in practice,” Nye said. “[Caldwell] executed both of them with amazing efficiency.”
The RC run continued with a transition goal from Lily Youngman – off a great long pass from defender Jaden McCoy – and Hines’s fourth of the night put the Wildcats up 10-6 with just 2:20 to go. Stratton would complete her hat trick on a consolation goal with less than one second remaining.
RC outshot Salem 23-12 and held a final 13-4 advantage on the draw circle, led by five draw controls from Maddie Dahl and four for Erskine. Redford finished with seven saves for the Spartans.
After a string of comfortable victories, RC should benefit from battling through a tight contest in less than ideal conditions. And the ’Cats won not by magic or luck – but rather by getting back to their own game plan in the second half.
“I think that’s the most important message that the girls learned tonight: we don’t let an opponent control what we’re doing; we need to control ourselves,” Nye said. “That’s a huge positive, to know if we get in this situation again, that we learn to play Wildcat lacrosse.”
RC 24, FC 0
Thirteen different Wildcats scored as RC romped to a 24-0 road win over Franklin County on Monday of last week.
Dahl and Shearer tallied four goals apiece, while McKenzie Hines recorded a hat trick. Shearer, Youngman and Caldwell each picked up four ground balls, and Shearer totaled a career-best nine draw controls.
Rachel Hines made five saves in goal for the Wildcats, and McCoy forced three Eagle turnovers.
RC 8, CS 4
RC used another strong second half to take down Cave Spring 8-4 in Roanoke on Thursday night.
The Wildcats held a slender 5-4 halftime lead over the Knights (8-3), but they shut out the home side in the second period. Rachel Hines was tremendous after the break, recording seven of her 10 saves in the second stanza.
McKenzie Hines notched another hat trick, while Lola Mulitalo scored twice for RC. Dahl and McCoy finished with three caused turnovers apiece, and Lexie Polly had two ground balls.
RC was scheduled to host William Byrd on Monday. The Wildcats will take on Hidden Valley in Lexington tonight, Wednesday, at 7 p.m. The game will follow a junior varsity contest with Western Albemarle at 5:30 p.m. RC will conclude the week with a varsity game at Covenant on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The Wildcats will conclude the regular season at home on Tuesday with a varsity contest against E.C. Glass, scheduled for 6 p.m. RC will then await the Region 4D tournament schedule. For updates, visit www.thenewsgazette. com.
