Moments of Excellence: Lacrosse earns first win of Skiera era in historic triumph at JMUMoments of Excellence: Lacrosse earns first win of Skiera era in historic triumph at JMU
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Moments of Excellence: Lacrosse earns first win of Skiera era in historic triumph at JMU

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As the 2022 calendar year comes to a close, Virginia Tech Athletics will spend the month of December celebrating the Hokies' standout achievements from the past 12 months in a campaign called "Moments of Excellence."
 The "Moments of Excellence" campaign will serve as a look back to the historic highlights and memorable accomplishments in Tech Athletics during 2022. Each varsity sport program will have an outstanding moment featured during December on the official Virginia Tech Athletics website and @HokieSports social media properties. Fans can visit the Hokies' social media directory to stay in contact with Tech Athletics and their favorite sports teams.
 
First-year head coach Kristen Skiera had her work cut out for her in the early days of her inaugural season at the helm of Virginia Tech. The Hokies first two games came on the road against ranked opponents. Tech's second contest against in-state foe No. 13 James Madison - the 2018 national champions and a team that the Hokies had never bested before - proved to be a defining moment in a successful first season under Skiera.
 The MOMENT

In 18 previous attempts, Virginia Tech had fallen short against in-state foe James Madison. Coming off a road loss to No. 18 Jacksonville to open the season, not many would have expected matchup No. 19 against the 13th-ranked Dukes to be the breakthrough.

Thankfully, the Hokies weren't interested in outside noise.
 


After falling behind 2-0 early, Paige Tyson scored a pair of goals to get Virginia Tech right back into the game in the first period. Sarah Lubnow added two of her own to give the Hokies a 4-3 lead, but James Madison closed out the half on a 3-0 run. The Hokies flipped the script in the second half and outscored JMU, 6-3, in the second half to pull off the upset. Olivia Vergano scored the game-winning goal 2:02 left in the game. That moment would foreshadow a breakout rookie campaign for Vergano, who was named an Inside Lacrosse All-America honorable mention.