Women's Lacrosse Preps for Vanderbilt

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April 7, 1999

GAME 9: #4 Virginia 9, Temple 4 – Samm Taylor (Springfield, Va./Robinson) scored twice in the opening two minutes of the second half to lift the Cavaliers to a 3-2 lead and Virginia never looked back, racing out to a 5-2 lead just seven minutes into the second half to help defeat Temple 9-4 today in Philadelphia. Taylor twice scored two goals in a two-minute span to help the Cavaliers to the win, their first at Geasy Field in six years.

Virginia dominated the Owls, scooping up twice as many ground balls and forcing eight of Temple’s 15 turnovers in the first half, but had only one goal to show for their efforts after the first stanza. Forty-six seconds into the game, Taylor caused a turnover and fed a streaking Mia Mooney (Rosemont, Pa./Shipley) who scored on the Cavaliers’ first shot of the game. From there, though, the Cavalier sticks fell silent in the scoring column, as Temple’s goalie Iris Alvarado made seven saves the rest of the first half to hold the Hoos off the scoreboard. The Cavalier defense, led by Melissa Hayes’ (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Visitation) four ground balls and caused turnover, held its ground, holding the Owls off the board until the 9:06 mark, when Kelly Ruch hit Nicole Ross driving the crease to tie the score. Although the Hoos broke four of the Owls’ eight clears, the offense was not able to get the ball into the cage and finally, with just under six minutes to play in the first half, Temple converted a free position to go up 2-1.

But in the second half, Taylor’s goal just 21 seconds into the stanza tied the score, and then drove to the cage again 77 seconds later to give the Cavaliers a lead they would not relinquish. At the 25:27 mark Kelly Allenbach (West Chester, Pa./W. C. Henderson) stuck back a rebound of a Taylor miss, and two minutes later Jamie Haas (Berwyn, Pa./Marple Newtown) converted a free position to give the Hoos a 5-2 lead.

On the ensuing draw, the Owls were finally able to get the ball in their offensive end, but they were stymied again as Taylor caused a turnover and the Cavaliers were able to clear the ball. Taylor’s goal at the 18:04 mark gave the Hoos a 6-2 lead. Temple’s Kelly Ruch rolled the crease less than a minute later to stop the five-goal outburst, but the Cavaliers scored one minute after the Owl goal as Taylor again struck on an unassisted goal to take a 7-3 lead.

The Cavalier defense stood strong, causing six second-half turnovers and breaking half of Temple’s clears. On one defensive set, Stephy Samaras (Annapolis, Md.) caused a turnover in front of the UVa cage and was fouled by an Owl. She threw the ball to the Virginia offensive end, where Haas collected in and fed a wide-open Mills Hook (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul’s) whose goal at 12:54 gave Virginia an 8-3 lead. Ruch’s goal a minute later cut the deficit to 8-4, but the defense would not allow any more goals the rest of the way. Virginia tacked on one more goal in transition as Gina Sambus (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) fed a streaking Laura Lindsay (Deerfield, Ma./Deerfield) at the 9:36 mark for the final score of 9-4.

With the win, the Cavaliers improve to 6-3. Virginia’s Francis Segarra (Glen Mills, Pa./Glen Mills) made six saves of the Owls’ 12 shots, and Taylor and Hayes had six ground balls each.

Individual and Team Notes
Overpowering the Owls: The win over Temple was the first time since 1993 that the Cavaliers have defeated the Owls in Philadelphia. Virginia extends its lead in the series 9-6.

Duking it out with the Dukes – The Cavaliers lead the James Madison series 17-7-1. The series ranks as the third-longest in terms of games played (25). Virginia has won the last three games, but are only 5-5 in Harrisonburg.

Dueling with Duke – Virginia has never lost to Duke in the three years that the Blue Devils have fielded a team, including a pair of 13-3 victories last year. This year, however, marks the first time that Duke has been ranked higher (#2) than the Cavaliers (#4) at any point during the season.

Welcoming Vanderbilt – Sunday’s game with the Commodores will be the first time that the Cavaliers have faced Vanderbilt in women’s lacrosse. The Commodores come to town with a #17 national ranking, down from their high of #11 earlier this year. This is the first season that Vanderbilt has been ranked in school history.

Slammin Sammy – Samm Taylor’s four goals and one assist against Temple was a career high for her, and it also pushed her to 35 career goals and 15 career assists, giving her 50 total. She is the 36th player in school history to record 50 career points.

Mia moving up – Mia Mooney has 61 goals in her career. Her next goal will move her into a tiw for 25th all-time in career goals. She needs five more points to move into 20th position all-time in career points. Through the Temple game, she has 86 career points (61g, 25 a)