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No. 13 Virginia Defeats Navy 13-9
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Box Score April 6, 2016
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Eight different players scored to lift the No. 13 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (7-6, 1-4 ACC) to a 13-9 win over Navy (7-5, 2-2 AA) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
Virginia took the lead at 3-2 and didn’t trail for the remainder of the game to earn its first road-win of the season. The Cavaliers had a solid game all-around, out-shooting Navy 36-24 and picking up 15 ground balls to 12. UVA won the draw battle 15-9, with junior Maggie Preas (Baltimore, Md.) picking up 11 of those.
“It was a really solid game without many mistakes at either end of the field,” Virginia head coach Julie Myers said. “I feel good about some of our team-wide performances, but in particular Maggie Preas with 11 of our 15 draw controls is just a huge game and really gave us energy to jump start. I thought we played clean. We took smart chances and connected the field well. I feel like we were fundamentally solid today and it is something to build on.”
Sophomore Kasey Behr (Northport, N.Y.) and senior Kelly Boyd (Baltimore, Md.) each tallied three goals. Junior Besser Dyson (Alexandria, Va.) had two goals and three assists to lead UVA with five points in the game.
Navy scored first, but Virginia responded quickly after winning the ensuing draw. Senior Mary Alati (Glen Ridge, N.J.) found Behr driving in the middle for a goal to tie the game at 1-1. The Midshipmen were back on top with a goal at the 24:57 mark to lead 2-1.
The Cavaliers tied it up once again as Dyson found freshman Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) for a goal. Dyson found Boyd open in front of the net as UVA took its first lead of the game, 3-2. With the game tied at 3-3, Virginia used a 3-0 run sparked by two-straight goals for Boyd to open up a 6-3 lead.
Back-to-back goals by Navy cut the lead to 6-5, but sophomore Lilly DiNardo (Salisbury, Md.) scored on a free position and junior Kelly Reese (Severna Park, Md.) added a goal to give the Cavaliers an 8-5 lead. Navy scored with 23.3 seconds left in the first as UVA took an 8-6 lead into halftime.
The teams traded goals early in the second half. Junior Posey Valis (Baltimore, Md.) put Virginia on the board first in the second half with a goal at 29:04, then Dyson put UVA back up by three, before the Mids pulled back within two. Dyson netted her second-straight goal to give Virginia an 11-8 lead with 20-28 remaining in the game.
Virginia took its largest lead of the game, 12-8, after Behr scored her third goal of the game to extend her streak to three-straight games with a hat trick. Navy added a goal with 3:34 to play to make it 13-9.
Navy finished with 11 saves to six for the Cavaliers, while UVA had just four turnovers to 13 for the Midshipmen. Freshman Kaitlin Luzik (Alexandria, Va.) had three caused turnovers and three ground balls and Jackson added a team-high four ground balls.
UVA will have a 10-day break before continuing play on the road at No. 6 Louisville on Saturday, April 16. The Cavaliers then travel to No. 1 Maryland on Wednesday, April 20 before closing out the regular season at Virginia Tech on Friday, April 22.