No. 11 Virginia Tops Virginia Tech 14-7
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Box Score April 22, 2016
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The No. 11 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (9-7, 3-4 ACC) closed out the regular season with a 14-7 win at Virginia Tech (5-12, 0-7 ACC) on a rainy Friday night at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Va.
Virginia trailed 2-0 early in the first half, but had an 8-0 run over the span of 20 minutes. The Cavaliers never looked back as they led by as many as 10 goals in the game. Senior Kelly Boyd (Baltimore, Md.) and junior Kelly Reese (Severna Park, Md.) each tallied four goals on the night.
“We are excited that we showed up to play and competed consistently and in an organized, disciplined way,” Virginia head coach Julie Myers said. “Really excited about the tempo and pace of play we had tonight. We generated a lot of shots. I wish we had scored more but what I liked was the structure we shot from within. Our defense did a nice job of holding tight when they needed to. Overall, we got better today and finished our regular season on a high note.”
The Cavaliers had the advantage over Virginia Tech in shots (40-17), ground balls (17-15) and draw controls (14-9). Both teams had three free position goals. The Hokies finished with 10 saves to five for UVA.
Along with Reese and Boyd, five different players scored for Virginia. Junior Besser Dyson (Alexandria, Va.) finished with a game-high four assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Vander Kolk (Severna Park, Md.) finished with six ground balls to go with three saves. Kristin Loscalzo led Virginia Tech with four goals.
After Virginia Tech took a 2-0 lead in the first six minutes of play, the Cavaliers answered when Dyson found Boyd for back-to-back goals to tie the game at 2-2. Dyson then scored a goal on a free position to give UVA its first lead of the game, 3-2, with 19:20 left in the first half. Junior Kelly Reese (Severna Park, Md.) extended UVA’s lead to 4-2 after picking up a ground ball and putting it back in for a goal.
Freshman Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) won the ensuing draw and then scored on a free position to give the Cavaliers a 5-2 lead with 17:12 remaining. Junior Posey Valis (Baltimore, Md.) added to the run with an unassisted goal at the 14:32 mark to put Virginia up 6-2. UVA took a five-goal lead, 7-2, when Dyson found Boyd for the third time of the day. Virginia Tech scored as Virginia took a 7-4 lead into halftime.
UVA continued its strong play in the second half as Dyson found Boyd to make it 8-3. Reese then scored two-straight to tally a hat trick and give the Cavaliers a 10-3 advantage with 22:12 to play. After a goal by Virginia Tech, senior Mary Alati (Glen Ridge, N.J.) scored to put the Cavaliers up 11-4 with just over 10 minutes to play.
Reese and Behr each added another goal as Virginia went ahead 14-4 with 4:56 remaining in the game. Virginia Tech scored three-straight goals to close out the game, 14-7.
Tonight’s game is sponsored by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of University of Virginia Athletics. Virginia earned a point in the Commonwealth Clash to clinch the win for the second-straight year. The Cavaliers lead Virginia Tech 11-5. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at TheCommonwealthClash.com.
The ACC Championship will be held April 28-May 1 in Blacksburg, Va. The bracket and seeds will be released after the conclusion of Saturday’s games.