/
.
No. 16 Virginia Stymies American, 18-4
Story Links
April 1, 2014
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 16 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (6-6, 0-3 ACC) closed out a two-game homestand with a dominant 18-4 victory over American (4-9, 0-4 Patriot) on Tuesday (April 1) at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers kept the Eagles off the scoreboard through the first 21 minutes of the game and held an 11-1 advantage at the break. Virginia outshot American 28-13 and held a 15-9 edge in draw controls.
“Our whole team did a really great job of feeding off one another and supporting each other,” said Virginia head coach Julie Myers. “I thought we did a nice job sharing the ball. The defense did a great job locking down and holding a pretty feisty opponent to just one goal in the first half. I think that really set the tone for us.”
Eleven different Cavaliers scored in the game including freshman Besser Dyson (Alexandria, Va.), who scored the first two goals of her collegiate career, and sophomore Brooke Boyd (Baltimore, Md.), who also scored her first collegiate goal. Junior Courtney Swan (Vero Beach, Fla.) posted her eighth hat trick of the season while also winning four draw controls. Junior Casey Bocklet (South Salem, N.Y.) scored a goal with three assists.
Virginia jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with back-to-back goals from junior Morgan Stephens (Olney, Md.) and senior Maddy Keeshan (Greenwich, Ct.) in the first two minutes of the game. The Cavaliers held an 8-0 advantage with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half after sophomore Kelly Boyd (Baltimore, Md.) scored a pair of goals in a 30-second span. American’s Terese Buechli scored with 8:53 remaining in the period to put the Eagles on the board.
With UVa already holding a 10-point lead to start the second half, sophomore Mary Alati (Glen Ridge, N.J.) added her second goal with 29:01 left in the game to make it 12-1. American scored a pair of goals, making it 12-3 and briefly halting the running clock, but Stephens scored on a free position shot with 21:40 remaining to give the Cavaliers back a 10-point edge.
UVa returns to ACC play on Saturday, April 5 when the Cavaliers play at Notre Dame in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Opening draw is at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed live online on ESPN3. The Cavaliers are back at Klöckner Stadium on Thursday, April 10 when they host Boston College for Senior Night when all of the Cavalier fourth-years will be honored in a pregame ceremony. Opening draw is scheduled for 7 p.m.