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No. 11 Virginia Dominates at American
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April 2, 2013
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The No. 11 Virginia women’s lacrosse team snapped American’s five-game win streak with a 16-4 victory over the Eagles at Jacobs Field in Washington, D.C.
The Cavaliers dominated the first half of play, jumping out to a 9-0 halftime lead. In the first 15 minutes of the game, Virginia outshot the Eagles 11-1. The Cavaliers also won the first nine draw controls of the contest.
“I think it was really important for us to come out and play hard and really dominate some possession time,” said Virginia head coach Julie Myers. “I think we did a great job making little plays. It was important for us to play consistently as well and I think we did that, making little plays as well as big plays, from the opening whistle to the very end.”
Morgan Stephens (So., Olney, Md.) flashed some fancy footwork, working her way through the defense to the front of the net to open the game with a goal 1:42 into the contest. Liza Blue (So., Butler, Md.) scored a man-up goal with 24:07 left in the game to increase the lead to 2-0. The Cavaliers would add seven more goals before the break to take a 9-0 lead into halftime.
The second half began in the same fashion as the first, with Courtney Swan (So., Vero Beach, Fla.) winning the opening draw and Ashlee Warner (Jr., Corning, N.Y.) scoring back-to-back unassisted goals to give Virginia an 11-0 lead.
American scored its first goal with 20:59 left in the game, but never managed to get the deficit back to single-digits.
Stephens had her third hat trick of the season, scoring three goals with an assist. Stephens also won three draw controls and picked up a ground ball. Swan won six draw controls. She also scored two goals with an assist.
Warner scored two goals with two assists.
“I think we just tried to stay spread out and move the ball fast,” Warner said. “We really shared the ball well and that opened it up in the middle.”
Virginia outshot American, 32-10 and won the draw controls, 18-4. It was the second time this season a Cavalier team held an opponent scoreless in the first half.
With the victory, Virginia improved to 7-6 (0-4 ACC). American, which had won five games in a row coming into the contest, fell to 5-7 (3-0 Patriot League).
The Cavaliers close out the regular-season with three home games against Northwestern (April 7), Johns Hopkins (April 11) and Virginia Tech (April 17).
Single-game tickets to Virginia lacrosse games are $8 (adult general admission) and $6 (youth, senior, faculty/staff general admission). Tickets may be ordered in person at Bryant Hall with a major credit card, by phone at (800) 542-8821 or online. Advance ticket sales end three hours prior to the game. Tickets are also available on game day at the Klöckner Stadium ticket windows, subject to availability, beginning one hour prior to the game.