Women's Lacrosse Handles William & Mary, 10-4

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March 24, 1999

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. –The fourth-ranked Virginia women’s lacrosse team held #13 William & Mary to only 11 shots on the evening and broke 13 clears en route to a 10-4 defeat of the Tribe tonight in Williamsburg. With the win, the Cavaliers take the lead in the series for the first time in the 24-year history of the program at 17-16-1.

Virginia jumped on top of the Tribe with four goals in the first eight minutes of the game as Jamie Haas (Berwyn, Pa./Marple Newtown) notched a hat trick in her second consecutive game before Willliam & Mary got on the board. The Cavaliers managed seven shots right away, including a pair of pipes, to take the early lead. After Haas hit a pipe in the opening shot, she scored twice, first on a dodge from the left and then on a free position, to put the Cavaliers up for good.

Sarah Gercke (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) took a pass from Samm Taylor (Springfield, Va./Robinson) and dumped it in the cage for the 3-0 lead, forcing the Tribe to call a timeout. Haas was not to be denied, though, and scored just over a minute after the timeout for her hat trick.

The Cavaliers went up by 5-0 when Amy Fromal (Folsom, Pa./Ridley) caused a Tribe turnover and ran it the length of the field, scoring two minutes after Haas’ goal. On the ensuing draw, the Tribe gained control and managed to get into an offensive set, where they drew a foul and Dani Vissers converted the free position, putting the Tribe on the board.

The Cavaliers won the next draw and Lacey Aumiller (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) scored for Virginia on an isolation two minutes later to go up 6-1. The Tribe won the next draw and took into their offensive end, but the Cavaliers again thwarted the Tribe attack as Ashley Widger (Berywn, Pa./Conestoga) caused one of her game-high four turnovers and scooped up one of her game-high eight ground balls to maneuver the Cavaliers out of trouble. But the Tribe eventually broke the clear and Tara Hannaford scooped up the loose ball and took it to the cage to cut the deficit to 6-2. Five minutes later the Tribe converted another free position to push the deficit to 6-3 as Kathryn Lafferty scored at 11:16.

From there the Cavalier defense roared back to life, holding the Tribe scoreless for the next 38:11. Each time the Tribe defense stood strong, the Cavaliers would turn around and take the ball back, not allowing the College a clean transition the remainder of the half. UVA’s Stephy Samaras (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) picked off a pair of Tribe passes in the first half, helping the Cavaliers keep the Green and Gold off the board. With just 4:10 to go before the half, Virginia’s senior captain Mia Mooney (Rosemont, Pa./Shipley) scored on a challenge to put the Hoos up 7-3 at the break.

Haas’s goal just 29 seconds into the second half gave the Cavaliers a five-goal cushion. The Cavaliers continued their domination in the midfield, picking up twice as many ground balls in the second half as the Tribe and causing nine of the Tribe’s 13 second-half turnovers, including three from Melissa Hayes (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Visitation).

Virginia added to their lead in the 53rd minute of play as Lauri Kenis (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) caused a turnover in the midfield and found a streaking Mooney to triple the Tribe’s score at 9-3. It was Kenis’ first career point in college. W&M finally got on the board in the second half as Mary Beth Noel scored with 3:05 to go, but the Cavaliers had the final answer as Laura Lindsay (Deerfield, Mass./Deerfield) and Meredith Elwell (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown), who are also teammates on the Virginia hockey team, hooked up with 23 seconds to play as Elwell picked up a loose ball and fed Lindsay on the crease. The six goal final margin is only the fifth time in the series that UVA has won by more than five goals. Francis Segarra (Glen Mills, Pa./Glen Mills) started in goal and made four saves.

The Cavaliers travel to Chapel Hill to face the #5 North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, March 27 at 1:00 pm.

                          1    2    Final (Records)Virginia     (#4)         7    3    10 (5-2)William & Mary (#13)      3    1     4 (1-3)

Scoring: Goals (V): Haas 4, Mooney 2, Fromal, Gercke, Lindsay, Aumiller
Assists: Taylor, Kenis, Elwell
Goals: (W&M): Vissers, Noel, Lafferty, Hannaford
Assists: none
Clearing: V: 10-15; W&M: 7-20
Caused Turnovers: V: 16; W&M: 6
Turnovers: V: 16; W&M: 23
Draw controls: V: 10; W&M: 6
Ground balls: V: 34; W&M: 19
Fouls: V: 13; W&M: 14
Shots: V: 32; W&M: 11
Saves: V: 5 (Segarra 5); W&M: (Orsi)
Free positions: V: 8; W&M: 6