Behind a strong second-half performance, the No. 13 Virginia women’s lacrosse team erased a three-goal halftime deficit to defeat James Madison, 10-9, Wednesday night.
Senior attacker Kelly Boyd, junior attackers Posey Valis and Kelly Reese and sophomore midfielder Kasey Behr each scored two goals for the Cavaliers (5-5, 0-3 ACC), who snapped a four-game losing streak with the win. Both junior attacker Besser Dyson and freshman attacker Avery Shoemaker additionally chipped in a goal.
“I think it was great for our confidence and just team morale,” coach Julie Myers said. “Our girls did a great job of fighting for ground balls and draw controls, which are two stats we really turned around in the second half.”
It was a tale of two halves for Virginia. The Cavaliers got off to a rocky start, as they were outshot by James Madison, 9-4, in the first half. The Dukes (4-6) also dominated draw controls, holding an 8-2 edge going into the half.
But despite a 6-3 halftime deficit, the Cavaliers maintained composure. Virginia, a seemingly new team in the second half, outshot James Madison, 14-8, and held the edge in draw controls, 8-3.
“We just knew that we needed to come out in the second half fighting in order to win the game,” Behr said.
“Every player was able to step up,” Myers added. “And we played cleaner without really turning ball over, which made all the difference in the world.”
Behr played especially clutch down the stretch for the Cavaliers. With the game tied 8-8, she ripped a laser shot to the upper left corner to score with 8:25 left, putting Virginia up one.
After James Madison scored with 5:37 remaining to even the game at 9-9, the Cavaliers again turned to Behr. The Northport, N.Y. native responded by scoring her second goal of the day with just 3:04 to play, putting Virginia up for good.
“Kasey Behr is a force to reckon with,” Myers said. “She is a determined athlete and just a tough one.”
Myers was not alone in her excitement for the team, which earned a timely win.
“We needed a win,” Behr said. “We are very excited.”
James Madison scored first at the 26:37 mark to open the game up 1-0. After Virginia responded with a goal by Boyd on an assist from Valis, the Dukes scored three consecutive goals. The teams then swapped two goals each to go into halftime with James Madison leading, 6-3.
Virginia opened the second half with two consecutive goals by Valis and Reese, respectively, to narrow the Dukes’ lead to 6-5. James Madison scored with 22:35 remaining to extend the lead, 7-5. But three straight goals for the Cavaliers, scored by Dyson, Reese and Shoemaker, respectively, gave Virginia its first lead of the night, 8-7, with 18:16 left in the game.
The end of the game was back and forth, as James Madison tied the game, 8-8, with a goal at the 12:49 mark. After Behr’s goal with 8:25 remaining put the Cavaliers back in the lead, 9-8, the Dukes quickly countered by scoring a goal with 5:37 to retie the game, 9-9. Behr’s second goal with 3:04 left put Virginia again in front, 10-9, and the Cavaliers were able to win the ensuing draw control and hold possession to run out the clock to finish the game.
Virginia next plays an in-conference game against at No. 15 Duke (7-4) this Saturday.
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