Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – In a top twelve battle Wednesday afternoon, the defending national champion James Madison Dukes went on four-goal run to take control and ended the contest scoring the last three goals to earn a 14-8 victory over No. 12 Virginia Tech Wednesday afternoon from the Beamer-Lawson Indoor Practice Facility.
JMU, whom the Hokies have never beaten in 17 tries, move to 1-1 on the season, as does Tech heading into Saturday's clash against Colorado.
"I think we got off to a good start obviously when we had the lead, and from there we kind of lost a bit of focus and against good teams like JMU we can't do that," head coach John Sung said. "Those little mistakes we have to learn from and move on because we play another top team here this weekend."
The Hokies turned the ball over 17 times Wednesday.
(2/13/2019) 2019 LACROSSE vs. JAMES MADISON
A bright spot was All-American Paige Petty who scored three goals and dished out an assist for a team high four points. She also won six draws in the midfield and scooped up two ground balls.
Mary Claire Byrne, Taylor Caskey, Emma Crooks, Grace Nelson and Julia Bolte each also scored points, with Tech finding a better rhythm and assisting of four of the team's eight goals.
James Madison was paced by five goals from Logan Brennan, a junior attacker who capitalized on her free position opportunities, converting both of her attempts. As a team, JMU was 4 of 8 from the 8-meter line while Virginia Tech was just 2 of 9.
The contest was a physical one with both teams accumulating over 35 fouls and each side had at least one payer carded out of the game.
Molly Dougherty anchored the Dukes' defense, coming up with 10 saves and three ground balls.
Inside the box score
- Petty's hat trick was her first of the young season and the 11thof her career
- Taylor Caskey and Julia Bolte each recorded their first goals of the season
- Tech held an advantage in draw controls again this afternoon 14-10, with Emma Crooks and Paige Petty each securing six.
Game Notes
- After six Hokies made their first collegiate start in the season opener this past weekend, Lizzie Lohrer a freshman earned her first start against the Dukes. She secured two draw controls and had one ground ball in the game.
What's next
- The Hokies will play host to the No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Feb. 16. First draw from the Beamer-Lawson Indoor Practice Facility is set for 1 p.m. with coverage available on ACC Network Extra.
- The matchup will be the schools' second ever meeting following last season's game at Colorado where the Buffs were victorious 18-3.