No. 14 Virginia Knocks Off No. 5 Louisville 10-9
Story Links
Box Score April 16, 2016
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 14 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (8-6, 2-4 ACC) picked up its third-straight win after topping No. 5 Louisville (12-3, 3-3 ACC) 10-9 on Saturday afternoon at the UofL Lacrosse Stadium.
Virginia led Louisville, 8-3, with 24 minutes remaining in the second half when the Cardinals used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to one, 8-7. Virginia went back up by two twice, then with 4:38 remaining Louisville made it 10-9. The Cavaliers remained in possession for most of the game, but the Cardinals had one last shot that was saved by sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Vander Kolk (Severna Park, Md.) to secure the upset.
“It was in so many ways a must-win game for us and I think our girls did a really nice job of preparing for a tough battle for the last 10 days since we played at Navy,” Virginia head coach Julie Myers said. “We have been working hard to try to get better at the little things. We still have some work to do, but our girls did a nice job of playing together as a team and making some big plays at really critical moments of the game. We are excited to come out with a top-10 win in a must win situation.”
Both teams finished with 28 shots, but UVA had an 11-10 advantage in draw controls and led 10-8 in saves. Louisville had a 17-13 edge in ground balls and 11 turnovers to 14 for the Cavaliers.
After going down 2-0 to Louisville in the first four minutes, Virginia mounted a 4-0 run. The Cavaliers were on the board after a goal by senior Kelly Boyd (Baltimore, Md.) on an assist from senior Mary Alati (Glen Ridge, N.J.). Freshman Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) scored to tie the game at 2-2 with 16:23 to play in the first half.
Boyd gave UVA the lead with a goal on an assist from junior Kelly Reese (Severna Park, Md.). Junior Besser Dyson (Alexandria, Va.) made it 4-2 UVA with a goal at the 9:31 mark in the first. The Cavaliers held the Cardinals scoreless for nearly 20 minutes, as Louisville didn’t score again until 7:12 remaining in the first.
Reese scored on an assist from Boyd to put Virginia back up by two and junior Posey Valis (Baltimore, Md.) split two defenders for a goal as the Cavaliers took a 6-3 lead into halftime. Vander Kolk had six of her 10 saves in the opening period.
The Cavaliers came out quickly in the second half as sophomore Kasey Behr (Northport, N.Y) scored two-straight goals to give Virginia an 8-3 lead with 24:35 to play. Louisville scored four-straight goals to cut the lead to one, but a free position goal by Jackson gave the Cavaliers a 9-7 lead with 7:00 on the clock.
Louisville responded quickly with a goal 11 seconds later as Kaylin Morissette, who led the Cards with three goals, scored off the draw to cut it to 9-8. Reese scored her second goal of the day to put UVA up 10-8 with 4:48 remaining. Another draw for Morissette led to a Louisville goal to make it 10-9 with 4:38 left.
The Cavaliers won the ensuing draw and remained in control until a turnover with 19 seconds gave Louisville one more chance. The Cardinals were able to get off a shot, but a save by Vander Kolk secured the 10-9 win.
Four players had two goals and six different players scored for Virginia. Boyd, Reese, Behr and Jackson each had two, while Valis and Dyson had one. Boyd and Reese also dished out two assists each.
Virginia will travel to No. 1 Maryland on Wednesday, April 20 before closing out the regular season at Virginia Tech on Friday, April 22 in a Commonwealth Clash game.