Midlothian vs Kempsville Girls Soccer: VHSL State Semifinal Preview

Midlothian and Kempsville meet in the VHSL girls soccer state semifinals Friday at 11:30 p.m., both carrying 16-win seasons and 3-1 playoff records into the matchup at John Champe High School. The full matchup data for Friday’s game lists the contest as a Kempsville home semifinal, with the Midlothian Trojans set to face the Kempsville team from Virginia Beach.

The two programs have never played each other. They share no common opponents, and the numbers that fill that gap split in interesting ways: Midlothian ranks higher in Virginia and leans on a dominant goal scorer, while Kempsville posts a higher team scoring average and carries the home designation.

State Semifinal Stakes for Two 16-Win Teams

The win totals sit side by side. Midlothian enters at 16-3-2 overall, Kempsville at 16-4, with both teams 3-1 in playoff play this spring. Midlothian’s path included a 12-1-1 region mark, a .810 overall win rate, and a .893 region win rate. Kempsville went 9-3 in its region for a .800 overall mark and a .750 region rate.

Friday’s match is one of the VHSL girls soccer state semifinals, played at Spring Jubilee Sites. The quarterfinals were held June 9 at home sites, and the finals are scheduled for June 13. The winner of Friday’s semifinal advances to the state championship, while the loser’s season ends.

Neither side has logged an out-of-state game this season, and both in-state records match their overall marks. The head-to-head ledger shows zero prior meetings between the two programs.

The 16-win seasons put both programs among the stronger teams in Virginia this spring. The state semifinal is the biggest stage either team has reached this postseason. The VHSL championship final on June 13 is the prize for the winner.

The Rankings Put Midlothian Ahead

The state and national rankings give Midlothian the edge on paper, with the Trojans sitting at No. 19 in Virginia and No. 240 nationally. Kempsville checks in at No. 24 in Virginia and No. 286 nationally. The gap in the state poll is modest. Both teams sit within the same competitive band in the national rankings as well.

But the rankings do separate the two: Midlothian is the higher-ranked program heading into Friday’s match. The Trojans hold the edge in both the state and national lists. The table below lines up the season-long numbers side by side.

Teasley’s 35-Goal Season Leads Midlothian’s Attack

The clearest individual advantage in this matchup belongs to Midlothian forward Jayla Teasley, who is putting together a 35-goal season. That total is the highest on either roster and well ahead of Kempsville’s leading scorer, who has five goals. Teasley wears No. 8 and leads the Trojans’ attack with a scoring rate that towers over every other player listed on the matchup page.

Teasley’s production helps explain Midlothian’s 3.3 goals-per-game average, a mark built on consistent offensive output across the season. The Trojans have scored 70 goals and allowed 13 this year. The team scoring averages show Midlothian putting up 2.2 goals in the first half and 1.2 in the second half of games.

On the assists side, Kegan Cartwright, No. 5 for Midlothian, leads the team with six assists. That total compares to three assists for Kempsville’s top playmaker.

Midlothian’s road form reinforces the picture. The Trojans went 9-0-1 away from home during the regular season. The team leads the matchup in both individual goals (Teasley, 35) and individual assists (Cartwright, 6). Kempsville’s defense will face the most concentrated scoring threat in the matchup.

The Trojans’ statistical profile is the strongest in the matchup on the individual charts. Teasley’s 35 goals and Cartwright’s 6 assists lead both categories.

Kempsville Scores More, Concedes More

Kempsville’s profile runs in the opposite direction. The team averages 4.5 goals per game, a higher scoring rate than Midlothian’s 3.3. That offensive output has produced 89 goals this season. The 89-goal total is the higher of the two team goal counts in the matchup.

The tradeoff shows up on defense. Kempsville has allowed 18 goals this year, compared to Midlothian’s 13. Both teams have been stingy, but Kempsville’s contests trend toward more goals at both ends of the field. The team has played in higher-scoring games all season.

At home during the regular season, Kempsville went 11-1. On the road, the team went 5-3, and the overall win rate of .800 trails Midlothian’s .810.

Kempsville’s non-league record is 4-0, a perfect mark against teams outside the region schedule. Midlothian’s non-league record is 1-1-1, a more mixed result against out-of-region opponents. The non-league splits show Kempsville’s unbeaten run against non-region teams, while Midlothian has dropped a game and a tie outside the region slate.

Records by Setting

A closer look at where each team won its games reveals the clearest split between the two programs. Midlothian’s 16-3-2 overall record breaks down as 12-1-1 in league play, 7-3-1 at home, 9-0-1 on the road, and 3-1 in the playoffs. Kempsville’s 16-4 mark splits as 9-3 in league, 11-1 at home, 5-3 away, and 3-1 in the postseason.

• Midlothian: League 12-1-1, Home 7-3-1, Away 9-0-1, Playoff 3-1
• Kempsville: League 9-3, Home 11-1, Away 5-3, Playoff 3-1

The contrast is sharp. Midlothian is the better road team, while Kempsville is the stronger home side. Both teams won three of four playoff games to reach this point. Friday’s venue, John Champe HS, is a Spring Jubilee Site, not a true home field for either program.

The non-league marks complete the picture: Kempsville went 4-0 against out-of-region opponents, while Midlothian went 1-1-1. Kempsville’s unbeaten non-league run gives the team a cleaner record outside the region slate, though the overall win totals are nearly identical.

How the VHSL State Tournament Works

The 2026 VHSL Girls Soccer State Tournament is structured around regional qualification, with region champions and runners-up advancing to the state bracket. The tournament follows a set of positioning rules that determine home sites for each round.

The VHSL state tournament bracket rules state that the top of the bracket is the home team. The rules also specify that if a region runner-up faces a region champion, the region champion gets the home designation regardless of bracket position. Those rules explain why Kempsville carries the home label for Friday’s game, even though the contest is being played at John Champe HS, not at a Virginia Beach venue.

The format splits rounds by location. Quarterfinals are played at home sites, while the semifinals and finals are played at Spring Jubilee Sites, centralized tournament venues. Friday’s 11:30 p.m. kickoff at John Champe HS fits the semifinal-round format, with the finals set for June 13.

Both the semifinals and finals are hosted at Spring Jubilee Sites, which serve as the centralized venues for the later rounds of the state tournament. The format puts the final two rounds on neutral fields, regardless of which teams advance.

What the Numbers Don’t Settle

Several questions hang over Friday’s match that the stat sheet cannot answer. The two teams have never played each other, and the matchup data shows no common opponents on either schedule. Any comparison is a matter of reading numbers from different schedules and seeing how they match up on the same field.

Individual matchups will carry more weight than season-long averages. Teasley’s 35-goal season sets a high bar for Kempsville’s defense, which has allowed 18 goals this year. Kempsville’s 4.5 goals-per-game attack puts pressure on Midlothian’s back line, which has allowed 13. The winner advances to the VHSL state championship final on June 13. The styles have not met, and Friday’s result will be the first data point.

• 35: Goals for Midlothian’s Jayla Teasley this season
• 3-1: Playoff record for both teams
• 4.5: Kempsville’s goals per game
• 3.3: Midlothian’s goals per game
• 0: Prior head-to-head meetings between the two programs