Another dispatch from the Post's Jeff Nelson, this time from Broad Run girls' lacrosse:

A four-goal burst to start the second half sparked Broad Run’s girls to a 16-12 home win over Battlefield in the state quarterfinals yesterday.

The Spartans and Bobcats were tied at seven coming out of halftime, which featured “some really motivational talks” from coaches and players, according to Broad Run senior Meredith Rogers. One of the players to speak, senior captain Kate Sistare, combined with Rogers to help Broad Run race out to an 11-7 lead early in the second half. Sistare and Rogers both finished with four second-half goals and a total of five and six for the game, respectively.

Once the Spartans had their four-goal cushion, Battlefield could never draw even, despite the best efforts of senior Jessica Jacobson, who scored three of her team-high four goals after the break.

“They were very good,” Sistare said of the Bobcats, “but we knew we could take them and we just talked [at halftime] about staying focused.”

Broad Run lacked that focus to begin the game and trailed 3-0 early. But the Spartans responded with five straight goals, forcing Battlefield to rally to tie the score with 18 second to play before halftime.

“It was 0-0 again, basically,” Rogers said. “And we didn’t start well in the first half, so we had to redeem ourselves and do a lot better in the second half.”

Broad Run, which last reached the state semifinals two years ago, when it lost to eventual state champion Oakton, will play the winner of tonight’s Robinson-Albemarle game on Tuesday at Westfield High School.