Cavaliers Defeat James Madison 17-6

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March 29, 2006

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The Virginia women’s lacrosse team played in the 500th varsity contest in school history tonight (Mar 29) and defeated in-state rival James Madison 17-6. After a brief ceremony before the game honored the three coaches in school history and alumnae who represented the Cavalier student-athletes, the No. 4/6 Cavaliers (9-2) were led by Ginger Miles’ 10 saves in the cage and a record-tying performance from Blair Weymouth, who had five assists in the game. The No. 17/17 Dukes (5-3) were led by Kelly Berger, who had three draw controls, two goals and two assists. Virginia outdrew the Dukes 15-10, with Tyler Leachman and Jen Holden, the reigning National Rookie of the Week, each controlling three.

Weymouth tied the record for assists in a game, set by Amy Appelt in 2002 against Maryland. She now has 29 goals, 16 assists and 45 points, making her fifth all-time in points and goals and third in assists. Leachman’s assist gives her 49 in her All-American career and she now ranks tenth all-time in school history across all classes. Kim Connors notched the 50th caused turnover of her All-American career tonight as well.

The Hoos got on the board first as Nikki Lieb scooped up a dropped JMU ball at the restraining line, brought it forward, and sent a long leading pass up to Leachman who ran in uncontested for a goal at 6:35. The Dukes won the draw control but Miles made a save on the possession and at the other end of the field the Cavaliers drew a three-seconds call. Leachman converted the 8-meter shot for a 2-0 lead at 11:23. Leachman then won the ensuing draw and got the ball to Connors, who dumped the ball into Jess Wasilewski, who batted the ball into the cage 62 seconds after Leachman’s goal for a 3-0 lead and a JMU timeout.

The Dukes got on the board next with a Berger drive to the cage, but the Cavaliers responded immediately as Connors won the draw, got the ball to Weymouth, who in turn fed Kate Breslin who was on the goal circle. Breslin scored 15 seconds after the Berger goal to move the margin back to three at 15:29.

Ashley McCulloch gained possession for the Cavaliers on a missed catch by Madison, and at the other end of the field Weymouth rolled the crease for a goal. Leachman won the draw and the Cavaliers settled their offense before the ball worked back up top to Leachman, who took from there and scored at 19:12 for a 6-1 lead. JMU stopped the 3-0 run as Lynlea Cronin converted an 8-meter shot at 20:30.

Connors gained possession for the Cavaliers on an overthrown ball in the backfield, and the Hoos cleared the ball back upfield where Weymouth dumped the ball into Wasilewski for a goal at 22:44. The teams exchanged possessions again before the Dukes attempted a clear, but Holden knocked down the clearing pass at the restraining line and fed the ball up to Weymouth, who in turn dumped the ball into Breslin, whose riser found the net for a goal at 28:37. Holden won the ensuing draw and the Cavaliers settled their offense before Leachman dumped the ball into Weymouth, who scored with 21 seconds remaining in the half for a 9-2 lead at the break.

The Dukes opened up the second half with a Bosica crease roll at 30:57, but Virginia answered as Leachman won the draw and took the ball into the arc before feeding Whitaker Hagerman. Hagerman eluded a pair of defenders and scored 29 seconds after Bosica to push the margin back to seven at 10-3. Berger then assisted on a pair of goals 56 seconds apart to pull JMU within five with 25 minutes to play in regulation.

The Cavaliers answered with a four-goal burst in four minutes, starting with a save from Miles. The Hoos cleared the ball upfield where Hagerman was fouled on a drive to the cage. She converted the 8-meter shot for a second consecutive goal at 38:30. A Miles save also led to the next goal as she cleared the ball to Julie Hauser, who took it upfield before passing up to Hagerman. Hagerman fed a cutting Leachman, who advanced the ball to Weymouth, who was on the goal line. Weymouth fed a cutting Lieb, who scored at 41:10. A Claire Bordley draw control gave Virginia possession, and Weymouth took the ball towards the cage before veering and dumping the ball back to Breslin, who scored 16 seconds after Lieb. Breslin’s goal at 41:26 was Weymouth’s fifth assist on the night.

A second Berger goal, this one coming on an 8-meter, stemmed the tide at 47:55 to make the score 14-6, but the Cavaliers closed quickly.

An errant JMU clear was picked up by National Player of the Week Jessy Morgan, and at the other end of the field Katie Shannon passed the ball to Leachman, who scored her fourth goal of the game at 49:49. Catherine Chambers caused a turnover and picked up the ground ball to start the next scoring possession, which saw Megan Havrilla take from the top and score for a 16-6 Virginia lead at 51:15. With time winding down, Shannon controlled a loose ball in the midfield and Virginia advanced the ball upfield where Havrilla spun around a couple defenders before scoring at 59:02.

Virginia returns to action on Saturday (Apr. 2) as they take on No. 2/2 Duke. Opening draw against the Blue Devils is slated for 1:00 pm in Durham. The Cavaliers now have a record of 364-131-5 through 500 games in school history.

Linescore	1	2	F	(records)JMU		2	4	6	(5-3)Virginia		9	8	17	(9-2)

Scoring summary:6:35 V Leachman Lieb 1-011:23 V Leachman 8m 2-012:25 V Wasilewski Connors 3-015:14 J Berger — 3-115:29 V Breslin Weymouth 4-117:16 V Weymouth — 5-119:12 V Leachman — 6-120:30 J Cronin 8m 6-222:44 V Wasilewski Weymouth 7-228:37 V Breslin Weymouth 8-229:39 V Weymouth Leachman 9-230:57 J Bosica — 9-331:26 V Hagerman — 10-334:02 J Haller Berger 10-434:58 J Cronin Berger 10-538:30 V Hagerman 8m 11-541:10 V Lieb Weymouth 12-541:26 V Breslin Weymouth 13-5 (Weymouth ties first-year record with fifth assist)42:20 V McCulloch — 14-547:55 J Berger 8m 14-649:49 V Leachman Shannon 15-651:15 V Havrilla — 16-659:02 V Havrilla — 17-6

Scoring: V: Weymouth 2-5-7; Leachman 4-1-5; Breslin 3-0-3; Havrilla 2-0-2; Wasilewski 2-0-2; Hagerman 2-0-2; Lieb 1-1-2; McCulloch 1-0-1; Shannon 0-1-1; Connors 0-1-1 J: Berger 2-2-4; Cronin 2-0-2; Bosica 1-0-1; Haller 1-0-1

Goalies: V: Miles (58 mins, 10 saves, 6GA); McBrearty (2 mins, 0 saves, 0 GA) J: King (55 mins, 12 saves, 16 GA); Kelly Wetzel (5 mins, 1 save, 1 GA)

Draws: VA 15, JM 10Shots: VA 25, JM 22Ground balls: VA 24, JM 22Turnovers: VA 14, JMU 21Caused turnovers: VA 7, JM 78-meter positions: VA 7, JM 58-meter shots: VA 4, JM 5Clearing: VA 15-18; JM 12-17