No. 12 Virginia Holds on to Win 14-11 at No. 14 JMU

HARRISONBURG, Va. — The No. 12 Cavaliers (6-3, 2-2 ACC) leapt out to a seven-goal lead in the first half but had to fend off a furious second-half comeback on Wednesday night (March 19) at Sentara Park. Behind a pair of fourth-quarter goals from Addi Foster, the Cavaliers ended the comeback effort and secured a 14-11 win over No. 14 JMU.

Addi Foster (3g, 2a) led the way on the stat sheet with five points while Kate Galica (3g, 1a) and Payton Sfreddo (3g) rounded out a trio of Cavaliers who posted hat tricks. Alex Riley and Gabby Laveghetta each chipped in a pair of goals as well.

Galica turned in another dominant day in the draw circle, picking up 11 draw controls to mark her sixth game of the season in double figures. Abby Manalang picked up four draw controls and a pair of ground balls while Sfreddo collected six ground balls.

How It Happened
The Cavaliers put together a fast start scoring back-to-back goals in the opening two minutes of the game. The teams traded goals to end the period as Virginia took a 4-2 lead into the second.

Virginia dominated the second quarter ,scoring the first five goals of the period to extend its scoring run to six straight – its longest of the game. After scoring once in the first, Sfreddo notched a pair of goals in the second to secure the first hat trick of her collegiate career.  Josephson ended the first half with nine saves.

The Dukes responded in the third quarter, outscoring UVA 6-2 to pull within three as the Cavaliers entered the final quarter protecting a 12-9 advantage.

JMU scored the opening goal of the fourth period to pull within two for the first time since the end of the first quarter. However, Foster delivered a pair of goals in the final seven minutes to ice the victory for Virginia.

From Head Coach Sonia LaMonica

“I thought we did a much better job of coming out with fire, keeping our foot down, playing with confidence and executing well. We knew at halftime that this is a team in JMU that wasn’t going to go away and sure enough, they rallied back. I just felt like our team showed grit and toughness. We made some adjustments and our team managed to close the door and we get to go home with a really great road win tonight.”

With the Win…

• Virginia has won three of the last four meetings with JMU in Harrisonburg
• The Cavaliers improve to 37-16-1 in the all-time series with the Dukes
• Sonia LaMonica improves to 2-0 against JMU as the head coach at UVA
• The Cavaliers record back-to-back wins over top-15 opponents.

Game Notes

• Payton Sfreddo notched the first hat trick of her career
• Addi Foster notched her ninth consecutive game with a point
• Mel Josephson recorded 10 saves on 19 shots in the opening three quarters
• Abby Jansen made three saves on five shots in the fourth
• The Cavaliers won the battle in the draw circle by a margin of 18-11
• UVA went 4-for-7 from free position attempts and limited JMU to just 1-for-5
• Jenna DiNardo (3) and Addi Foster (2) each recorded multiple assists
• Virginia limited JMU to two goals or less in three of four quarters
• Olivia Bruno recorded a pair of caused turnovers to lead the team

Up Next
The Cavaliers return to Klöckner Stadium on Saturday (March 22) to host Pitt in ACC action. First draw is set for 3 p.m.