BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech lacrosse program is set for its 25th season in 2019, and the Hokies' first draw will be on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Beamer-Lawson Indoor Facility at 1 p.m. against the Bucknell Bison.
That game will be broadcasted on ACC Network Extra.
Tech had a stellar 2018, setting multiple school records in the process. The Hokies finished the season 14-7 season, the most wins for a program in Blacksburg. Additionally, the squad won five ACC games, won an ACC Tournament game for the first time and received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies defeated Georgetown 13-10 in the First Round securing the first postseason victory.
The 2018 squad featured four First Team All-ACC players; Meagh Graham, Kelly Glatthorn, Tristan McGinley and sophomore midfielder Paige Petty.
The Hokies will begin the season ranked 11thin the Inside Lacrosse Poll, but will have to contend with a very challenging schedule that features 10 other opponents who are ranked to start the season.
"I'm excited to continue the building process here at Virginia Tech during the 2019 season," head coach John Sung said. "Coming off our 2018 season, I saw major improvements to running our system on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. With the addition of my second recruiting class this will give us the depth that we need to continue to elevate our program."
During this past offseason we were able to add two key staff members to this program, Missy Jaworski and Ron Dickon. Missy has moved from a volunteer coaching roll into our director of operations. This has allowed our coaching staff to focus on the development of players while the behind the scenes work is now operating at an elite level. The biggest change has been the addition of our strength and conditioning coach Ron Dickson. Coach Dickson has elevated our overall athletic ability to a new level. Watching our players run, jump and move better than we ever have will be a huge game changer for us."
POSITION PREVIEWS
ATTACK
The attack will be bolstered by the return of grad student and captain, Emma Harden, who earned a medical redshirt last season after an injury derailed her senior season. With 66 goals, Harden is the Hokies' leading scorer on the roster. Prolific at times, she has recorded 11 career hat tricks.
Junior Julia Bolte, another team captain figures to be a big part of the attack as well, coming off of a season where she led the squad with 19 assists. The Morristown, New Jersey native also had 16 goals in 2018, for a tally of 35 points.
Other threats will be junior Taylor Caskey (75 career points), sophomore Sarah Lubnow (four goals in four career starts), as well as young talent in the form of highly touted freshman Sara Goodwin.
MIDFEILD
Perhaps the strength of the 2019 squad lies in the midfield with the combination of All-ACC performer and All-American Paige Petty, Mary Claire Byrne and Emma Crooks. The trio combined for 92 goals 92 draw controls and 51 caused turnovers in 2018 helping Tech to a historic 14-7 mark.
Byrne, a grad student and three-time captain has 37 starts and is fifth all-time in career caused turnovers.
Petty returns for her sophomore season, after a 2018 where she scored 58 goals on the way to earning First Team All-ACC honors.
Crooks started nine games and scored 17 goals as a freshman. She torched Campbell for eight scores in her first career start.
DEFENSE
Tech's defense will look quite different from the 2018 edition, as four starters graduated as the winningest class in program history including All-ACC talent Kelly Glatthorn who went on the play professionally for the Philadelphia Force of the UWLX.
But the Hokies do have young players ready to step into those roles, most notably Leigh Lingo and Elena Ricci who made 14 and five starts during their freshman season, respectively.
GOALIES
The Hokies will have to replace one of the best goalies in school history, Meagh Graham who graduated as the program's all-time leader in wins. She also had the most ground balls in history and set the mark for best goals against average for a single season in 2017.
Sophomore Morgan Berman will look to continue the momentum of strong goalie play in 2019. The Suwanee, Georgia native appeared in six games a season ago making six saves.
The Bison
Bucknell is coming off of 3-13 season where they went 1-8 in the Patriot League finishing ninth. The Bison are picked to finish ninth again this season. The team is led by junior goalie Jamisen Dewitt who was a Patriot League Second Team member in 2018 and has 419 career stops.
The series: The Hokies and the Bisons have met four times previously with the Hokies winning each game. The last time the two teams met was in 2006 where the Hokies picked up the 6-5 victory with Katie Boyle scoring the game winner.
Up Next: Virginia Tech is back at home on Wednesday, Feb. 13 for a game against defending national champions James Madison. First draw is scheduled for 4 p.m., with coverage available on ACC Network Extra.
