Wildcats Trounce Eagles, Titans

RC Girls Lacrosse Runs Win Streak To Eight

The Rockbridge County High School girls lacrosse team recorded two more dominant victories last week, rolling past Franklin County 18-2 at home and then dispatching Hidden Valley 23-4 on the road.

With that pair of results, the Wildcats extended their winning streak to eight games and improved to 9-1 overall.

On Monday of last week, RC cruised to an 18-2 victory over the Eagles in Lexington.

Nala Shearer and Lola Mulitalo combined for 15 points for the Wildcats, with Shearer notching four goals and four assists and Mulitalo totaling three goals and four assists. Maddie Dahl registered three goals, one assist and a game-high nine draw controls for RC, and Ruby Goodhart chipped in two goals and two helpers.

The ’Cats put together a dominant first quarter, scoring six goals in the final 5:13 of the period to assume a 9-0 advantage. RC would lead 13-0 at halftime.

Eleven of the Wildcats’ markers before the break were assisted – and the only exceptions were a transition goal from Mulitalo, who picked up a loose ball and scored off of an FC turnover, and a free-position tally from Shearer.

“Our goal tonight was to actually become more efficient with our plays, and move the ball quicker,” RC head coach Susan Nye said. “That’s what we’ve been trying to get to all season, because we are a very good feeding team.

“We just needed that piece to become a little bit more precise,” Nye added. “We were a little bit more accurate tonight.”

The Eagles (2-10) finally got on the board through an 8-meter goal from Grace Campbell in the final minute of the third period, and Rachel Worley scored in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats secured second-half goals from five different players – Dahl, Mulitalo, Josie Caldwell, Brianna Roberts and Goodhart – and they got significant minutes for most of the roster. The big lead also allowed them to work on improving their midfield play.

One of the ’Cats’ objectives for Monday was “to look to pass first instead of run, just so that we can move the ball quicker up the field” on transitions, Coach Nye said.

Anna Nye tallied two goals, one assist and eight draw controls for RC. Caldwell finished with two goals, and Halina Homiak contributed one goal and two assists. The Wildcats outshot Franklin County 29-6 and held a 20-3 edge on the draw circle.

RC 23, HV 4

Shearer scored her 100th career goal as RC overpowered Hidden Valley 23-4 in Roanoke last Wednesday.

Mulitalo posted six goals and six assists for the Wildcats, while Nye notched four goals and four assists and Goodhart also scored four times. In addition to her milestone goal, Shearer registered four helpers, as RC tallied assists on 18 of its 23 goals against the Titans (5-6).

The ’Cats were again dominant on the draw circle, collecting 22 draw controls on the night. Nye led the way with 10 draw controls, and Dahl added four. Goodhart and Homiak picked up three ground balls apiece, and Emily Humphreys made three saves.

“The transitions and passing up the field were amazing,” Coach Nye said. “The Wildcats had a number of fastbreak goals.”

RC was slated to visit Christiansburg on Monday. The Wildcats will return home for their final two regular-season games, playing host to Cave Spring, with the junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity game at 7:15 p.m., and to William Byrd, with the varsity game only at 6:30 p.m., next Wednesday, May 15.