CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 19 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (5-7) suffered an 11-10 loss against James Madison (5-5) on Wednesday (March 25) at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
The Dukes held an early 2-1 lead, but the Cavaliers scored five unanswered goals to take a 6-2 lead on a goal with 11:45 remaining in the second quarter, the largest lead of the game for either team. JMU cut the deficit in half, trailing 7-5 at the break.
JMU tied the game, 7-7, with 6:38 remaining in the third and then took an 8-7 lead two minutes later. Jenna DiNardo tied the game, 8-8, with 4:47 remaining in the third, but the Dukes scored back-to-back goals to go up 10-8. DiNardo scored with 6:11 remaining in the game with sophomore Fiona Allen tying the game, 10-10, with 3:26 remaining.
James Madison won the ensuing draw, with Olivia Matthews scoring what would be the game-winning goal on a free position shot with 1:33 remaining. The Dukes won the final draw and managed to withstand the Cavalier pressure for the final 90 seconds to retain possession and hold on for the victory.
FROM HEAD COACH SONIA LAMONICA
“Today was a tough one. We had some great opportunities, and we're just not capitalizing on them. So we've got to continue to work on that. We’ve been giving ourselves chances, but there were just some tough things, like hitting pipes and not finishing shots. We've got to execute things a little bit better in pressure moments. It's just really what it's coming down to.”
VIRGINIA SCORING
GOALS: Jenna DiNardo 3, Gabby LaVerghetta 2, Jayden Piraino 1; Kate Galica 1; Cady Flaherty 1; Megan Rocklein 1; Fiona Allen 1
ASSISTS: Madison Alaimo 3; Jayden Piraino 1; Jenna Dinardo 1
JAMES MADISON SCORING
GOALS: Aly Yee-Jenkins 2 ; Kaitlyn Carney 2; Lilly Kelley 2; Olivia Matthews 1; Chloe Bleckley 1; Jordan Peterson 1; Jolie Schiavo 1; Lauren Savage 1
ASSISTS: Payton Root 2, Emily Simkin 2
NOTES
- Jenna DiNardo had her fourth hat trick of the year. She scored three goals with an assist for four points
- Virginia held a 25-20 edge in shots
- Virginia held a 12-11 advantage in draw controls
- James Madison’s Abigail Beattie made four saves. Virginia’s keepers combined for two saves, with Mel Josephson and Elyse Finnelle each stopping one shot
- Sophomore attacker Jayden Piraino made her first career start
UP NEXT
- The Cavaliers return to conference play at Louisville (6-5, 2-4 ACC) on Saturday, March 28 at 12 p.m.