Hokie ClubWith their postseason aspirations on the line, the Virginia Tech lacrosse team will travel to Boston ahead of Wednesday afternoon's 5 p.m. first draw against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round of the ACC tournament on the campus of Boston College.
The game, played at Alumni Stadium can be seen on Regional Sports Networks.
Tech concluded the regular season at 8-9 and 1-6 in the league. Each of the last five games came against top seven opposition and indeed all nine losses were to ranked teams. Tech's strength of schedule stands at number 14 nationally.
Saturday at Virginia, sophomore Paige Petty scored two goals to give her 62 for the season, setting the new single season record in Blacksburg.
History made ‼️@paigepetty26 etches her name in the history 📚with her 62 goals this season (and counting 👀)#eleVaTe | #Hokies🦃pic.twitter.com/meeqHUJUTW
— Virginia Tech Lacrosse (@HokiesLax) April 20, 2019
The regular season saw several student-athletes reach milestones including; Petty, Julia Bolte and Taylor Caskey each scoring the 100th points of their careers.
Petty has moved into sixth all-time at Tech in goals with her 120 in just 37 career games. Her 70 total points this season is good for the third highest total in program history.
Bolte, a junior attacker has tallied 33 assists this season, the second-best mark in a season in Tech history. Her 52 assists in a Hokie uniform is tied for the third most. She tied a career high earlier this year with five in a game at Syracuse.
On the draw circle, three Hokies have combined to have a historic season, with each individual ranking in the top 10 for single season draw control tallies; Emma Crooks (68), Petty (66) and Elena Ricci (65).
Mary Claire Byrne's 27 caused turnovers, leads the team and is tied for the most in the conference. For her career, the grad student has 96,the third-highest total in program history. Byrne has also climbed into the top six in terms of ground balls with 127.
The Tar Heels
Carolina is ranked third in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and the IWLCA Coaches Poll this week after concluding the regular season 12-3 and 5-2 in the ACC. In the regular season finale on Saturday night, the Heels defeated Duke 19-5 behind eight points (6 goals, 2 assists) from Jamie Ortega and seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) from Katie Hoeg.
That pair as well as goalie Taylor Moreno are on the 2019 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, given annually to the top collegiate lacrosse player.
On the season, Ortega (78) and Hoeg (76) have led the Heels offensively, as the only two players with 35 or more points on the roster. As a team, Carolina has averaged 15 goals per game and has assisted on over 50 percent of their scores.
The team has a decided advantage on the draw, in turnovers and ground balls.
In goal, Moreno has all 12 victories and all 15 decisions, making 128 saves on the season and owning 7.97 goals against average.
The Series
Virginia Tech and North Carolina have met 28 times in their history with the Heels taking every game. In the last meeting at Thompson Field the Heels pulled away for a 19-5 victory.
Last season, UNC defeated the Hokies three times, once during the regular season, in the ACC tournament and again in the round of 16 at the NCAA tournament.
Looking Ahead
The winner of the first-round matchup between the Hokies and Tar Heels will meet the winner of the Notre Dame and Duke game on Friday, April 24 at 8 p.m. on RSN.
The NCAA Selection Show is on Sunday, May 5. To be eligible for selection, at-large teams must have a .500 winning percentage.