“Our team had a big adrenaline rush …We just wanted it,” Speier said. “The opportunity showed itself to me and I went for it.”

Her tally capped a back-and-forth affair at Riverside’s Leesburg campus. Lightridge sophomore attacker Keira Kavulic tied the game at five at the end of the first half. The Lightning mounted a three-goal rally that the Rams then matched.

The two teams kept trading goals from there, with Lightridge (15-5) taking a lead and Riverside tying it until the Rams ran out of comebacks.

“It’s super high anxiety, but … If I lose my cool, the girls lose their cool, right?” Lightning coach Kere Harper said. “And they have to be able to stay calm. Especially against a team that we’ve now played four times.”

Lightridge won the first two matchups between the two schools, both Loudoun County powerhouses. Their third meeting came in the region championship on May 28. The Lightning mustered just three goals in a loss.

After that game, Harper felt her team had gotten too rigid in its offensive execution.

“We’re so scripted. We have 17 plays, I don’t know any other team I’ve coached in 20 years that has 17 plays,” she said.

Her team’s next practice was loose, featuring little lacrosse and a lot of fun. Their next game, a state quarterfinal at Patrick Henry in Ashland, was four hours away. The time together helped the Lightning bond even further. A 16-6 beatdown of the Patriots helped them reset from the region final loss.

All that looseness showed in Tuesday’s offensive explosion. The Rams (14-6) tied the game at eight with 1:29 left in the third quarter. They’d muster three more goals but could never claw back into the lead because Lightridge answered with four goals from four different scorers.

Lightridge had seven different scorers for the game, getting back to what Harper deemed the basics of attacking, ones she worked to instill after the region final loss.

What, exactly, are those basics?

Said Harper: “Well, I would say that, but we have a game on Saturday.”

Yorktown, Robinson to meet in Class 6 final

Yorktown girls’ lacrosse trounced Battlefield, 14-2, at home on Tuesday to return to the Virginia Class 6 championship.

The Patriots — trying to win their second title in three seasons — delivered a stifling defensive effort. They’ll face Robinson, which beat Cosby 9-6 at home on Tuesday, for the state crown. The game will be played on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Deep Run High School.

Yorktown coach Jenny Keimig pointed to her team’s state quarterfinal win, a one-goal decision over W.T. Woodson, as a key moment in its journey.

Her team had rolled through most of its opponents this season, creating some complacency. The tight Woodson game wiped that away.

“Having a team play [you] that close on your home turf really was a wakeup call to us,” Keimig said. “Like, ‘Alright, we got to crank it up a couple of notches.’”

Junior Olivia Stafford led Yorktown with three goals. Helene Lydon, Lila Almy and Coco Rigoli each notched two. The Patriots had six different scorers and didn’t allow a goal in the second half.

Tuesday’s game against Battlefield marked a rematch of the 2022 Class 6 championship, also a decisive Yorktown win. The Patriots took a step back last season due to offseason departures. The momentary rebuild has paid dividends: Yorktown is 19-1 this spring.

Their lone loss came by one goal to Robinson (18-3) in the second game of the season. The Rams won three straight state titles from 2015-17 and will make their return appearance on Saturday.

“I don’t take any team we play for granted, especially in a state playoff game … I remind my girls that we’re not going to take this game lightly. It’s not going to be a cakewalk,” Keimig said. “Robinson is going to give us their best and I expect no less from my team.”