WASHINGTON - Freshman Lauren Schoenberger scored a career-high four goals on Saturday but it was not enough as the American University women's lacrosse team dropped a 19-11 decision to Virginia Tech at Jacobs Field. Schoenberger, Leslie Fischer and Bernadette Maher each recorded a hat trick in the loss.

Virginia Tech opened the game with back-to-back free position goals to take a 2-0 lead just over four minutes into the action. American cut the Hokies lead to 2-1 on Fischer's first goal of the afternoon but four straight Virginia Tech goals pushed the lead to 6-1.

Maher scored her first goal on a free position shot with 12:34 remaining in the half and was followed 30 seconds later by Fischer's second tally to move the score to 6-3. Schoenberger and Amanda Makoid teamed up for consecutive goals within 30 seconds of one another to bring American to withing two on the scoreboard, 8-6, but with 5:30 to play Virginia Tech had pushed its lead back to four, 10-6. Maher added her second score with 4:38 to go in the half to make it a 10-7 game but the Hokies scored the final two goals of the frame to take a 12-7 lead into the half.

Virginia Tech scored the first three goals of the second half to extend its lead to 15-7 with 17:23 remaining in the game. An unassisted goal scored by Fischer with 13:54 to play made the score 15-8 but the Hokies answered with consecutive goals to take their largest lead of the game, 17-8.

Goals by Maher and Schoenberger pulled AU back to within seven, 17-10, with 4:37 remaining but that was as close as the Eagles would come down the stretch. Schoenberger scored her final goal of the day with 34 seconds remaining to no avail as Virginia Tech took the game by a final score of 19-11.

Schoenberger scored a career-high four goals on five shots to lead American's attack. Fischer and Maher each tallied three goals while Makoid added one. Alyssa Romano forced a game-high four turnovers and picked up three ground balls defensively for AU. Whitney Kovar and Emily Stankiewicz recorded three caused turnovers apiece and Stankiewicz tallied a game-high four ground balls.

American will continue its six-game homestand to close out the year on Wednesday, April 8, against UMBC at 4:00 p.m.

* * * *

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tech's trio of Rachel Culp, Allie Emala and Jessica Nonn combined to score 14 goals as the Virginia Tech women's lacrosse team held off American University for the 19-11 win in a non-conference match played at Jacobs Field on Saturday afternoon. The Hokies have now won two-straight games and hold a 6-7 overall record (1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). American falls to 2-10 on the year (1-4 Patriot League) with the loss.

Morgan Widlake (Fr., Catonsville, Md.) opened the scoring for Virginia Tech and the Hokies continued to build a 6-1 lead, propelled by three goals from Emala (So., Baltimore, Md.), halfway through the opening period. But the Eagles pecked away at the lead and trailed only 8-6 after 22:30 minutes of play.

However, AU did not have an answer for Culp (Sr., Kent, Ohio), who netted three goals in the final seven minutes of the first half to give the Hokies a commanding 12-7 advantage at the break. Tech's 12 scores marked a season high for team goals in a half, topping the squad's previous mark of 11 goals scored in the first half against Davidson earlier this year.

The Hokies' carried over the momentum from the end of the first half, as Jessica Nonn (Fr., Catonsville, Md.), assisted by Caitlyn Wier (So., Cockeysville, Md.), found the back of the net less than two minutes into the second frame, pushing Tech's lead to 13-7. Culp would add two more goals before American responded late in the second half to pull the score to 15-8, but the Hokies had the game in hand and outscored the Eagles 4-3 over the final 13 minutes of play en route to the 19-11 final decision.

1 2    Next  »

2009-04-04