The girls lacrosse team at Virginia Episcopal School will try to make school history Saturday, as they seek their first Virginia Independent Schools state title.
The VES boys lacrosse team also will play for a state championship and try to bring one home for the first time since 2017.
The two squads won their respective VISAA Division II state semifinal matchups Thursday afternoon.
In Virginia Beach, the VES girls sank Cape Henry Collegiate 17-8.
In Suffolk, the VES boys defeated Nansemond-Suffolk 15-11. The Bishops fell into a 3-0 hole to start the match, trailed 6-4 at halftime and then "flipped the switch" in the second half, according to coach Kevin Gates.
Third-seeded VES outscored top-seeded Nansemond-Suffolk 11-5 in the second half.
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"We just found momentum in the fourth quarter; we pulled away, and it was beautiful to watch," Gates said.
Brennan Olmert led the way for VES (9-7) with five goals and four assists, while Billy Koudelka broke free for three goals and three assists. Jay Blount scored three times, and John Hatch scored twice to round out the Bishops' top contributors in the scoring column.
VES goalie Bryce Ledwith finished with nine saves.
Nansemond-Suffolk (12-7) was led by Cooper Goss, who poured on a game-high six goals.
VES' Nathan Pickerd had eight ground balls and won 17 faceoffs.
"Nathan Pickerd had a phenomenal day, especially as the game wore on. … We controlled the ball, controlled the game," Gates said. "Then once we got the ball, I feel like Brennan Olmert willed us to victory. He refused to lose today.”
Penalties were a factor in the Bishops' regular-season loss to Nansemond-Suffolk, a 9-7 affair back on March 24. But VES showed Thursday it had improved; the team was whistled for just three penalties to the Saints' nine.
The Bishops last played in a state championship game in 2018, when they lost to North Cross 13-12 in a thriller in Ashland. North Cross won that state title on a buzzer-beater after VES erased a three-goal deficit and took its first lead of the game with 26.9 seconds remining in the fourth quarter.
Now the Bishops are back, and their opponent is none other than North Cross (12-7), the reigning and back-to-back state champions in 2021 and '22. The game will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday on the campus of North Cross in Roanoke.
Second-seeded North Cross defeated No. 3 Collegiate 16-6 on Thursday.
The VES boys are trying to win a state championship for the first time since they went back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
The VES girls squad entered the Division II state tourney as the No. 3 seed. They brushed aside No. 6 Steward 21-4 in Tuesday's quarterfinal round before gliding over the Dolphins on Thursday to improve to 12-4.
It has been a sensational season for the Bishops, led by players such as Caroline Carrington, Grace Battle, Sierra Lewis, Ellen Lewis and Frances Fenton, all of whom are major scoring threats.
Battle led the way Thursday with seven goals, three assists and six draw controls. Carrington added five goals and seven assists; Sierra Lewis finished with four goals and one assist to round out the team's leading scorers.
VES led 10-5 at halftime.
“We played all but 11 minutes [a player] down because of penalty troubles, so it was definitely a good defensive performance," VES coach Maddy Hooper said.
The group will stay in Virginia Beach for the state championship, where they'll try to topple top-seeded Covenant (13-2) in Saturday's state title game, scheduled for noon at Catholic High School.
VES will try to end their skid against Covenant. The Bishops lost to the Charlottesville-based Eagles three times this season, most recently on May 9 in the Blue Ridge Athletic Conference tournament finals, 13-12. Covenant defeated No. 4 Nansemond-Suffolk 17-6 in Thursday's other semifinal.
“Excited to get another shot at Covenant in the state championship," Hooper said. "... Biggest thing on Saturday is to come out strong. We’ve struggled to come out hot against them [in the past].”
The VES girls most recently advanced to the state championship game in 2017 and 2018.
For box scores from both games, scroll to the bottom of this report.
William Campbell holds signing day
In Naruna on Tuesday, William Campbell High School honored three athletes who will take their play to the collegiate level next season.
Na'Kyla Bradley, who led the Generals to a successful basketball season by averaging roughly 15 points and 10 rebounds per game, announced she is headed to Averett University in Danville.
Bradley, a 5-foot-10 forward, powered William Campbell to a 16-6 season. She also averaged roughly five steals per contest and was named the Region 1B player of the year for her efforts. She was a first-team selection to the Virginia High School League Class 1 all-state team, as well.
Also at the ceremony, 6-foot, 296-pound guard/center Tristin Herald announced he will play football at Hampden-Sydney next season. And wide receiver and defensive back Ja'Coriyous Graves, a 5-9, 155-pound senior, will continue his career at Averett University.
New Covenant, Timberlake to play Friday
In the VISAA Division III girls soccer state tournament, both New Covenant and Timberlake Christian won in the quarterfinal round Wednesday and will play in separate semifinal games Friday for a chance to advance to the state championship.
New Covenant (9-8) defeated Grove Christian 1-0 in the quarterfinal round and now will play No. 3 seed Chelsea Academy (11-2-1) in the semifinals.
Fifth-seeded Timberlake Christian (11-7) faces top-seeded Grace Christian-Mechanicsville (24-6) in the semifinals. TCS won its first-round game over Gateway Christian 6-0 (New Covenant was granted a bye in that round) and then held off Stonebridge 2-1 in Wednesday's semifinals.
Friday's games are both scheduled for 2 p.m. at Ukrop Park in Richmond.
BOYS LACROSSE
Virginia Independent Schools
Division II State Semifinals
Virginia Episcopal 15, Nansemond-Suffolk 11
Virginia Episcopal;2;2;6;5;—;15
Nansemond-Suffolk;4;2;4;1;—;11
Scoring: VES—Brennan Olmert 5 goals, 4 assists; Billy Koudelka 3 goals, 3 assists; Nathan Pickerd 1 goal; Tucker Olmert 1 goal, 1 assist; Jay Blount 3 goals; Charles Thomas 1 assist; John Hatch 2 goals. NS — Cooper Goss 6 goals; Howard Casterlow 2 goals, 1 assist; Jackson Jensen 2 goals; Bennett Parker 1 goal.
Saves: Bryce Ledwith (VES) 9. Nansemond-Suffolk save statistics not available.
Records: Virginia Episcopal 9-7. Nansemond-Suffolk 12-7.
Next: No. 4 seed VES travels to No. 2 seed North Cross for the state championship Saturday, 2 p.m.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Virginia Independent Schools
Division II State Semifinals
Virginia Episcopal;10;7;—;17
Cape Henry Collegiate;5;3;—;8
Scoring: VES — Grace Battle 7 goals, 3 assists (6 draw controls); Mary Clare Caprise 1 goal; Caroline Carrington 5 goals, 7 assists; Sierra Lewis 4 goals, 1 assist; Lily McKee (2 draw controls); Kate Flippin (1 draw control).
Saves: Ella Epps Perrow (VES) 6.
Records: Virginia Episcopal 12-4. Cape Henry Collegiate 8-3.
Next: No. 3 seed VES plays No. 1 seed Covenant in the state championship at noon Saturday at Catholic High School.
