With Semifinal Wins, Rams and Chargers Will Go Fourth for Title

Chantilly and Robinson must be getting sick of each other. The top two girls' lacrosse teams from the Northern Region have played three times this season, with Robinson winning the last two. On Saturday, the rivals will get one more shot at one another -- this time for a state crown.

Third-ranked Chantilly (20-2) handed No. 7 Loudoun Valley its first loss of the season last night, defeating the Vikings, 14-9, in the second of two state championship semifinals at Westfield High School. In the night's first game, Robinson pummeled Broad Run, 18-5.

The Chargers and Rams (17-3) will meet in the title game on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Westfield.

"I am so excited to get another shot at a state title," said Chantilly senior Katie Stillwell, whose Chargers lost in the state championship game last season. The Chantilly and Robinson rivalry "is a great rivalry. We're all friends. We know each other and how we play. It'll be all about execution."

Stillwell executed last night. The menacingly quick midfielder torched Loudoun Valley for eight goals, using the space left open by the Vikings' over-pressuring of her star teammate, Brittany Griel.

Stillwell's biggest goal came after Loudoun Valley (19-1) scored three consecutive goals to cut Chantilly's lead to 13-8. It was Stillwell's 60th goal of the season.

"They were denying [Griel] the ball, and when you take one player out of it and occupy so much time watching one player, it allows other players to step up," Chantilly Coach Michele Gates said. "Tonight, it was Stillwell."

Robinson Coach Alison Neun's team jumped to an early 3-1 lead against Broad Run (15-5), a team that had won 15 straight, and never looked back.

In the state quarterfinals, Broad Run came from behind to stun Battlefield, 16-12. Robinson made sure it avoided the same fate despite a sloppy start in sweltering heat.

"We controlled the first three draws and scored off of them and never really looked back," Neun said. "Our defense really just stepped it up."

Senior Megan Dunleavy scored six goals for Robinson. Junior attacker Rachel Moody added four goals and three assists. Robinson will need efforts like those to continue its postseason dominance of Chantilly. The Rams have defeated the Chargers twice in the past month.

"We have to be able to adjust on the fly," Neun said. "They have a really talented team. They're very aggressive. Once you see a team that many times, you always worry about thinking about them too much. We're going to try and focus on us a little bit, too."