CHRALOTTRESVILLE, Va. – The No. 6 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (6-1) picked up a 20-9 win over George Mason (3-3) on Wednesday at Klöckner Stadium.
 
Senior Avery Shoemaker (Wyndmoor, Pa.) matched a career-high with six goals. Sophomore Taylor Regan (Larchmont, N.Y.) had her first career hat trick and freshman Lillie Kloak (Ridgewood, N.J.) added a hat trick. Junior Sammy Mueller (Pelham, N.Y.) dished out a career-high five assists.
 
Virginia led in shots (45-21), ground balls (26-18) and draw controls (17-14). The Cavaliers had just nine turnovers to 20 for the Patriots. UVA capitalized on five free position goals on eight shots.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
George Mason scored first, then UVA had a 3-0 run to take a 3-1 advantage. The Patriots came back to take a 4-3 lead at the 17:40 mark in the first half. UVA responded with back-to-back goals by Kloak. George Mason tied it 5-5, but Shoemaker hit back-to-back goals then UVA sued a 5-0 run to lead 12-6. The Cavaliers took a 13-7 advantage into the half. Shoemaker scored her sixth goal to open the second half. The Cavaliers continued to extend their lead with two 3-0 runs.
 
QUOTE
“It was a nice mid-week win. I thought George Mason was feisty and made us play some tough defense and they got the better of us in the first half. It was nice to see us clamp down in the second half. There were some good performances from some of our players, but as a team we need to play at a higher level as our competition gets steeper moving forward. It’s a mid-week win, so we will take it and move on knowing that we have big challenges on the horizon we are excited to tackle.”
 
NOTES

  • Junior Nora Bowen (Lovettsville, Va.), sophomore Ashlyn McGovern (Phoenix, Md.) and freshman Courtlynne Caskin (Potomac, Md.) each finished with two goals.
  • Freshman Grayson Offutt (Arlington, Va.) and senior Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) had one goal apiece.
  • Bowen and Regan each added an assist.
  • Mueller led UVA with nine draw controls and added three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
  • Bowen also finished with three caused turnovers, a career-high, and had two ground balls.
  • UVA had 15 different players with a ground ball.

 
UP NEXT
Virginia is back on the road in ACC play at No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday, March 9, at noon in Chapel Hill, N.C.