The second ACC matchup of the season ended in a win for Virginia women’s lacrosse, with the Cavaliers (5-1, 1-1 ACC) defeating Clemson (4-1, 1-1 ACC) by an 18-12 margin Saturday afternoon. Another great performance from both sides of the ball propelled Virginia to the win over the Tigers.
The Cavaliers wasted no time at the start of the contest, jumping to an early 3-0 lead. After a missed shot from a free-position by Virginia, junior attacker Kate Miller scooped the ball up and scored early into the quarter. The Cavaliers would score twice more in the next three minutes thanks to senior midfielder Mackenzie Hoeg and another by Miller, both of which were assisted by senior attacker Morgan Schwab.
The Tigers scored one of their own via graduate midfielder Emma Tilson, but Virginia bounced back with two more of their own. Freshman attacker Madison Alaimo found Hoeg for her second goal, and graduate attacker Katia Carnevale got herself on the board soon after. Clemson and the Cavaliers would then trade goals to end the quarter. Schwab found Carnevale for Virginia with just over one minute left on the clock. The first quarter ended with the Cavaliers up 6-2, with three of Virginia’s players already a goal away from a hattrick and Schwab having collected a trio of assists.
The second quarter was an even affair, with both sides scoring four goals. The Tigers scored just 15 seconds in when freshman midfielder Natalie Shurtleff found graduate attacker Claire Bockstie who hurled it in. Less than a minute later, graduate midfielder Kiki Shaw also found the net for the Cavaliers. Midway through the quarter, Clemson started a 3-1 run, starting with Bockstie once again on a free-position, followed by goals from graduate midfielder Shannon Brazier and junior midfielder Summer Agostino. Miller interrupted the Tigers’ run with a goal of her own, but Clemson looked to be gaining a foothold in the game with the first half coming to a close, down by only two goals.
The Cavaliers fought back though — Alaimo found freshman attacker Jenna Dinardo and Shaw found Schwab for a one-two punch of scores within the last 1:18 of the half. Virginia went into halftime leading 10-6.
The Tigers came out swinging in the third quarter, going on a 3-0 run, including the first and second goals of the season for sophomore attacker Caitlan McElwee. The Cavalier lead was now just one goal. Schwab then assisted Hoeg with 6:33 left in the quarter, and as time wound down, Virginia and Clemson would trade goals inside ninety seconds left in the quarter. The fourth quarter would be the decider, and the score was in favor of the Cavaliers 12-10 before action resumed for the final period.
Just 33 seconds into the fourth quarter, Carnevale scored to start a 4-0 run for the Cavaliers. Freshman midfielder Kate Galica scored twice during this run, and Dinardo scored her second of the day. Virginia led 16-10 with less than five minutes left in the game, and both teams traded goals to end the game with a 18-12 scoreline.
The Tigers played admirably, led by Bockstie and Brazier, who both had hat tricks. But Virginia had the upper hand on both offense and defense — Carnevale, Miller, Galica and Hoeg all recorded at least three goals, while Schwab tallied an additional five points for the Cavaliers. Schwab is now second in all-time assists for the program. Furthermore, sophomore goalkeeper Mel Josephson had eleven saves, stifling the Clemson attack. Coach Sonia LaMonica stressed the importance of winning on the road against a tough ACC opponent.
“I saw a tough, resilient group today,” LaMonica said. “Clemson gave us a really hard fight. They definitely tested us in various areas from start to finish but I think we showed that resiliency. This was a huge road win. I am really proud of them and this will help to set the stage as we move forward.”
Coming off of a huge win against Cornell last week, Saturday’s victory over Clemson adds to Virginia’s momentum going into their next game at home against No. 20 Richmond. This next matchup starts Wednesday at 5 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on ACCNX.
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