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THE SERIES
The Hokies have met JMU 12 times, with the first meeting coming in 2001. The Dukes lead the all-time series 12-0, despite the last three matchups being decided by three or fewer goals. JMU took last year’s contest 14-11, as both teams opened the season in Harrisonburg. Then-senior Julia Heaps went off in the game for five goals and two scores, while Meghan Macera added a pair of goals.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hokies opened the season last week at Liberty and brought home a 15-11 win. Megan Will led the offense with four goals and two assists, while Cawley Bromley matched career bests with three goals and two assists. Gracee Hendrix came off the bench for the Hokies and scored two goals.
Tech got out to a 7-2 lead by the midway point in the first half, but the Flames never backed down. They got back to within two after a three-goal run and trailed by three at the half.
Play became more back-and-forth in the second half, but Liberty was never able to get any closer than two goals. Meagh Graham played the entire 60 minutes in cage and finished with eight saves.
AGAINST THE BEST
Being in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Hokies play a number of the nation’s best teams and players on a weekly basis. Tech will face eight teams this season currently ranked in the top 20. JMU is receiving votes this week and Sunday’s opponent, Ohio State, enters the week as the No. 12 team in the country.
RECORD WATCH
Meg Bartley set a new single-season draws record for the Hokies last season, winning 90 during her junior compaign. She is also working her way to the top of the all-time list (245), currently sitting in second with 210 draws to date.
Megan Will is also climbing the all-time charts at Tech, chasing her cousin, Dawn Will, who sits atop the career goals and points lists. Megan currently ranks fourth with 124 career goals and 162 career points.
SCORING AT WILL
Senior Megan Will scored in 15 of 17 games for the Hokies a season ago. The Bel Air, Maryland, notched her second mark on the all-time single-season scoring list with 48 goals. She scored the 100th goal of her career at Old Dominion last season.
Will got her final campaign out to a great start with four goals and two assists in the opener at Liberty.
BARTLEY, UNEXPECTED SURPRISE
Senior Meg Bartley walked on to the Tech lacrosse team in the fall of 2011 and as the 2012 season began she made a quick and efficient impact. The Lewes, Delaware, native earned a starting job on attack by the fifth game, after scoring four goals and assisting another against UC Davis at home and has been a staple in the lineup ever since.
Bartley has been a huge threat for the Hokies on the draw. After setting a new Tech single-season record last year, she led the way for Tech in the opener, winning eight draws.
FRESH FACES
The Hokies added a pair of new assistat coaches and ten freshmen during the offseason. Mallory Poole joins the Hokies after serving as the head coach at Bloomsburg University for the past two years, while Kim Kolarik returns to the ACC after spending a year at Lehigh following her playing days at Virginia.
Tech’s freshman class includes ten players from six different state, including one Virginia native. Mary Claire Byrne, Amanda Uliano, Brittney VanVeldhuisen, Tristan McGinley, Emma Harden, Paige Graham, Kristen Kohles, Xani Shultis, Kelly Glatthorn and Carly Primo make up the class of 2018.
FAMILY TIES
The season opener against Liberty added a little extra compeition for freshman Tristan McGinely. McGinley began her collegiate career playing against her sister, Annie McGinley, who is in her second season as an assistant for the Flames following a playing career at Rutgers.