Harrisonburg, Va. -- The Virginia women's lacrosse team (7-1) needed a goal in the final three minutes to secure nail-biter win last night over in-state rival James Madison (5-3).
Senior Courtney Young's put-back goal with 2:48 remaining was the tally that sealed the game. Young's game-clinching goal followed a mad dash for the deflection of Nikki Lieb's free shot, which was blocked by Madison goalie Amy Atig. Young was the player to emerge from the swarm and released a quick shot that found its way past Atig for the 8-6 victory.
"That was a huge goal," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "We thought Nikki was going to hit that eight meter. And then with that whole scramble we were glad it came to a Virginia kid and we were able to hit the back of the net. It gave us a nice cushion."
The Cavaliers needed the late goal, because the Dukes mounted a three-goal run in the second half that suddenly made the game tense. Senior Jessica Brownridge scored two of the James Madison goals in that stretch, including a laser-like shot that made the score 7-5. Less than a minute later, the Dukes would pull within one, after Betsey Priest scored following a nice pass from Brooke McKenzie.
James Madison kept the pressure on, but the Cavalier defense and goalie Ginger Miles held strong for the final fifteen minutes of the game. Miles had two of her 12 saves with less than six minutes on the clock to maintain the Virginia lead.
"There's a lot of pressure there," Miles said. "You're nervous but you have to channel that positively."
Virginia used a four-goal run that spanned both halves to build its lead. Tyler Leachman scored a goal with 4:46 remaining in the first half to break a 3-3 tie. The Cavaliers scored the next three goals after the break to build a 7-3 lead. Kim Connors scored in the first minute of the second half. Five minutes later, Nikki Lieb added her lone tally of the night, and Leachman scored her second goal of the night with less than 20 minutes left in the game.
Another sign of Virginia's intensity after the break was Myers' adjustment to have her offensive players challenge when there was a change of possession. The Dukes had to make multiple passes just to be able to advance the ball past midfield every time they got the ball.
"We were trying to disrupt their transition," Myers said. "We were looking to either steal the ball from the ballhandler or force a long pass that we could disrupt."
Virginia senior Amy Appelt tallied all three of her points in the first half. Appelt tied the game at one apiece when she scored an unassisted goal 13 minutes into the game. She later helped her team tie the score at two all when she assisted Cary Chasney with a pass from behind the goalkeeper's net.
"I always see Cary on that," Appelt said. "Her stick is always high and she's good for catching and dumping. It's kind of like an alley-oop. That's just our play."
Virginia will now spend the rest of the week preparing for this weekend's match-up with ACC rival Duke (8-2).
"Duke's defense is very physical," Myers said. "They believe in using their sticks to hold kids as well as to push and shove. Our job as coaches is to make our defenders play physical in practice so we're ready for that."
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