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Top seed Cave Spring knocked off fifth-seeded Rockbridge County High School 11-5 in the Region 4D boys lacrosse semifinals in Roanoke last Wednesday.
The Knights (14-3) fell 14-3 to No. 2 seed E.C. Glass (15-2) in the regional championship game on Friday, with both teams advancing to the Class 4 state tournament. The Wildcats’ season comes to a close at 9-7.
In Wednesday’s regional semifinal, Jack Jensen made 14 saves in goal for RC. River Hull and Alex Nye notched two goals apiece for the Wildcats, while senior defenseman Colby Jarvis rounded out the scoring with his first career goal. Jayden Layman and Zane Ramsey each tallied one assist.
RC ultimately couldn’t overcome a tough start, as Cave Spring jumped out to a 5-0 advantage early in the game and led 7-2 at halftime.
“I think we ran out of steam – that’s probably the number one thing,” RC head coach Robert Hull said. “We came out of the gates slow.”
Still, the Wildcats battled, pulling within 7-4 in the third quarter. But RC couldn’t contain the Knights’ transition game, and the No. 1 seed pulled away down the stretch.
Hull was pleased with his team’s settled defense, praising the play of long poles Jarvis and Milo Mulitalo, as well as Ramsey at short-stick defensive midfield. The RC coach noted that a number of Cave Springs’s goals came on the break.
“The defense played lights out,” Hull said. “Almost all the points were fast break points. Part of that was us not being able to transition the ball.”
Beyond pushing the Knights in the second half, the Wildcats showed some resilience throughout the spring. RC bounced back from a three-game losing streak in April to win five of its last six regular-season games, with only a 12-5 May 4 home loss to Cave Spring, guaranteeing a winning record even before the regional tournament kicked off. Last year, the Wildcats went 6-9.
And the ’Cats did that with just two active seniors after losing long-stick midfielder Garrett Stillwell to a knee injury at the beginning of the season. While RC will certainly miss Jarvis and Hull – who will continue their lacrosse careers at Bridgewater College and Guilford College – a solid contingent of players is set to return in 2024.
That will include Jensen, Mulitalo, Ramsey, Sawyer Hattersley and others from a stingy defense that allowed just 6.88 goals per game, as well as a cadre of rising sophomores and juniors from an attack that progressed over the course of the season.
“The growth of this defense, and the trajectory that they’re on, they’re just going to keep getting better and better,” coach Hull said. “That’s our building block for next year.
“Hopefully, we’ve got some good talent coming up – and the [returning] guys will continue to improve,” he added. “The future’s hopefully going to be bright.”
RC 9, JF 3
RC advanced to the regional semifinals with a 9-3 road win over fourth-seeded Jefferson Forest in the quarterfinal round on Monday of last week.
Andrew Kelly and Quincy Speers scored three goals apiece to lead the Wildcats to the victory. Jensen made 13 saves in goal as RC avenged an 8-7 home loss against the Cavaliers (7-8) in the regular-season matchup on April 20.
In the rematch, Nye chipped in two goals and Hull notched one marker for the ’Cats, who led 5-0 at halftime. That advantage was no accident, as RC started the game on the front foot.
“There was no deer-in-the-headlights moment,” Hull said. “We were on a mission, and we executed.”
And the Wildcats played just as well on the defensive end, holding an opponent to four or fewer goals for the ninth time on the season.
“The defense played superb overall,” Hull said. “That’s been our strength, and the spark that is helping on this last kick-and-gasp toward the playoffs.”
