Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech lacrosse team returns home to Thompson Field on Saturday, April 13 to take on the top-ranked Boston College Eagles at noon. The game can be seen on WatchESPN.
#️⃣2️⃣1️⃣this week in the 📈#eleVaTe | #Hokies🦃pic.twitter.com/onmm8Zpi71
— Virginia Tech Lacrosse (@HokiesLax) April 8, 2019
Tech is back home after a two-game road trip last week at two top-five programs, Syracuse and Notre Dame. In both contests, the Hokies came up just short, coming back from early deficits to close the gap to one against the Orange and just two at Notre Dame.
Junior Taylor Caskey recorded career point 100 on the trip, tallying two goals against Syracuse and two goals and an assist against the Irish. Paige Petty racked up nine goals and Julia Bolte added seven assists in their two games to lead the Hokies. Morgan Berman made 12 saves Sunday afternoon.
Senior Day 🔜
— Virginia Tech Lacrosse (@HokiesLax) April 10, 2019
We'll celebrate these ladies Saturday in a pregame ceremony before we take on No. 1 Boston College pic.twitter.com/GGUs1qXgSP
Boston College (14-0, 5-0 ACC) comes in as the top-ranked team in the nation. The Eagles are led by Attacker Sam Apuzzo who ranks second in the country in goals per game (4.77) and second in the country in points per game (6.15). Apuzzo was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, which is given to the most outstanding player in collegiate lacrosse. Midfielder Dempsey Arsenault, goalie Makenzie Kent and defender Elizabeth Miller of Boston College were also named to the list.
Boston College ranks fifth in the country in scoring offense with 16.36 goals per game with a 50.7 shooting percentage and 15th in scoring defense only allowing 8.93 goals per game. The Eagles also handle the ball well, they rank third in the country in turnovers per game with just 12.21.
The Eagles have defeated four straight ranked teams of their own, dispatching North Carolina, Virginia, Notre Dame and Duke in consecutive contests.
The Series with Boston College
The Hokies and Eagles have met 19 times previously with Boston College taking 14 of those games. Tech's last win came in 2017 when they defeated the 17th-ranked Eagles 18-12 in Blacksburg. Emma Harden and Taylor Caskey both recorded hat tricks in that contest.
The senior class
Tech will honor six young women; Mary Claire Byrne, Emma Harden, Julia Byrne, Kelci O'Donnell, Molly Wentz and Emily Wilson for their contributions to the program.
MC Byrne is in her fifth year with the program where she has been a team captain for each of the last three seasons. Byrne has been an ACC All-Academic Team selection each of the past two years and ranks third in school history in caused turnovers and has moved into the top 10 in ground balls. She will graduate in May with her master's in leadership studies and will pursue a career in the sports industry.
A grad student, Emma Harden has been with the Hokies since 2015 appearing in over 50 games and scoring 80 goals. Harden has captained the team in 2019. She scored a career best five goals in the Hokies' win versus Delaware a season ago. Harden will graduate in May with her master's degree in leadership studies. She plans to move to Chicago and pursue a career in the marketing field.
Julia Byrne joined the Hokies in the fall of 2018 for her senior season after three years at Cincinnati where she was a team captain and three-time honor roll honoree. With the Hokies, she got her first start in a clash at third-ranked Syracuse and has appeared in three games. She will graduate in May with a degree in marketing and plans to work in the sports and entertainment field and dreams of working in the NFL as a player development coordinator.
Kelci O'Donnell has been a member of the lacrosse program for each of the past four seasons and has been a team captain in 2019 her senior season. O'Donnell has 40 appearances, scoring a career best four goals in a win against Old Dominion during the 2018 season. She will graduate in May with a degree in multimedia journalism, sports media and analytics and plans to work as a news reporter.
Molly Wentz is a four-year member of the lacrosse program, a part of the defensive unit. She has made three starts her senior season in defense and has racked up double digit appearances for the first time in her career. She will complete her degree in finance in May and will start working with a financial planning firm in Philadelphia this summer.
Emily Wilson is a three-year member of the lacrosse program, playing defense. She had a career best four caused turnovers and scooped up a ground ball in a win over Campbell her sophomore season. Wilson will graduate in May with a degree in public relations and will move to New York City to begin work for Joele Frank a strategic communications firm.
Looking Ahead
Virginia Tech will face Virginia on Saturday, April 20 in Charlottesville to close out the regular season. That game is slated for 12 p.m. and can be seen on ACC Network Extra.