WILLIAMSBURG - Behind five goals from senior midfielder Jaime Sellers (Kennebunk, Maine) and 10 second-half saves by freshman Emily Geary (Wayne, Pa.), the William and Mary women's lacrosse team took third-ranked Virginia down to the wire Wednesday night at Albert-Daly Field, but the Tribe's upset bid fell short in a 14-11 Cavalier victory.

In the 42nd meeting between the state-rivals, Virginia (5-1) won its seventh straight in the series on the strength of four-point performances from Kaitlin Duff and Jenny Hauser. Duff led the Cavs with three goals and added an assist, and Hauser recorded a pair of goals and two helpers.

W&M (2-5) dropped its fifth-straight game and third this season to a ranked opponent. Despite the final outcome, the young Tribe gave the defending Atlantic Coast Conference Champions all they could handle for 60 minutes.

After trailing 10-5 at the break, W&M limited the Cavs' methodical offense to just four goals in the second half, thanks in large part to the play of Geary and the Tribe defense. Geary entered the game with 22:30 remaining and recorded 10 saves in that span. Sophomore Sara Beckstead (Annapolis, Md.) started the contest in goal and was also strong, keeping the Tribe in the game with six-first half saves and seven in total.

Freshman midfielder Grace Golden (Manhasset, N.Y.) caused a pair of turnovers, and fellow freshman defender Sarah Jonson (Dallas, Texas) forced a turnover and picked up a key ground ball in the final period. W&M also did not allow an eight-meter goal, on four Virginia attempts.

But, the Cavaliers' potent settled attack and solid all-around play were too much. Only one of Virginia's seven total turnovers was unforced, and the Cavs used a 10-6 advantage on draws in the first half to build the five-goal lead at intermission.

Ashley McCulloch scored a goal and added two assists for Virginia, and Megan O'Malley, Kaitlin Swagart and Whitaker Hagerman all scored two goals apiece. Kendall McBrearty posted only five saves in goal, but each proved to be huge for the Cavaliers, who improved to 11-5-1 all-time in Williamsburg.

Freshman attacker Ashley Holofcener (Reisterstown, Md.) recorded two points on a goal and an assist, two ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover for the Tribe. Senior defender Ashley Bolton (Narbeth, Pa.) notched the first point of her career in transition, picking up an assist on Katie Rees' (Catonsville, Md.) second-half goal. Bolton also caused a turnover.

After freshman Kaitlyn Gambrell (Forest Hill, Md.) grabbed the opening draw in her first start, the Tribe showed it came to play Wednesday night from the beginning. Golden converted an early eight-meter attempt, and W&M took a 1-0 lead just 35 seconds into the contest.

Behind a pair of draw wins though, it took Virginia only two minutes to answer and seize the lead. Katie Shannon controlled the first reset, and Duff found the net only 31 seconds after Golden. McCullogh gained possession for Virginia again on the next draw, and O'Malley eventually broke through to put the Cavs ahead, 2-1. Hagerman extended the advantage to 3-1 on an assist from McCullogh following a Tribe turnover at the 25:06 mark of the opening half.

W&M showed off its quick-strike ability too, however, as Golden snared the ensuing draw and assisted on Sellers' first goal just nine seconds later. The goal extended Sellers' scoring streak to 23 games, dating back to last season.

After trading goals, Virginia gained some distance with sustained success off the draw and another three-goal blitz. Hauser scored the second of her back-to-back goals to give Virginia a 5-3 lead with 18:37 remaining in the first, and after another McCullough draw win, the Cavaliers' lead grew to 6-3 one minute later on Hagerman's second. Brittany Kalkstein grabbed the ensuing draw, and Duff's second goal with 17:11 left in the first made it 7-3 Virginia.

1 2 3 4    Next  »

2008-03-12