The No. 5 Virginia women's lacrosse pulled out a thrilling last second win against in-state rival No. 12 James Madison yesterday in Harrisonburg. Sophomore attacker Amy Appelt took control with just under a minute remaining to score the game-winning goal for the Cavaliers.
"It's a win on the road over a ranked team," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "To win this game is so huge that you're not regretting anything you did tonight."
James Madison (6-2) opened up the scoring early with a goal just a minute into the game to give James Madison the 1-0 lead early on.
Virginia (8-2), however, had an answer for almost everything the Dukes threw at them. With each goal James Madison scored, Virginia responded with a goal of their own until the game was tied at three goals each.
After that, Virginia put some distance between themselves and the dangerous Dukes with goals from sophomore attacker Cary Chasney, senior midfielder Lauren Aumiller and junior midfielder Morgan Thalenberg.
The lead would not last for the Cavaliers as the Dukes used their home-field advantage, bringing their fans into the game and spurring a comeback.
Just before halftime, James Madison freshman attacker Brooke McKenzie snapped Virginia's 3-0 run by putting one away from right in front of the Cavaliers' net. Virginia held a 7-4 lead going into the second half, where things would only become more interesting in the final 30 minutes of play.
The Dukes opened up the second half the same way they opened the first, scoring early and not letting up on either side of the ball. Sophomore attacker Jessica Brownridge took the ball from behind the goal, streaking to the front, where she placed the ball just past Virginia junior keeper Andrea Pfeiffer to start the comeback for James Madison.
Two more goals from the Dukes would tie the game at seven goals a piece and force Virginia to call a timeout.
Myers told the Cavaliers to "just get it together and pick up the intensity," Chasney said. "When teams come back on you like that, you tend to get shocked," she added.
The momentum had swung to James Madison's side and the Dukes looked to suck Virginia into playing their game.
The Cavaliers would come out of their timeout more determined and hungry for the victory. Sophomore attacker Amy Appelt ended the Dukes 3-0 run with a goal. Her goal was followed by scores by Aumiller and junior attacker Caitlin Banks to build Virginia's lead back up to three goals, giving them the 10-7 advantage.
James Madison, again, did not go quietly into that good night and battled back with three goals to match Virginia's three-goal outburst.
Each team would add another goal, tying the game at 11 with 54 seconds remaining on the clock.
On the ensuing face-off, the Cavaliers would gain control and set for one final offensive play.
The ball ended in the stick of Appelt, who stood behind the James Madison goal.
"Amy is very poised behind the net," Aumiller said.
As time dwindled away, Appelt cut from behind the net, came around the goal, flew down the middle of the field straight toward the opposing keeper and buried the shot into the back of the net, giving Virginia the game-winning goal.
The win was not pretty for Virginia and it exposed a lot of issues that must be addressed in the upcoming week before they face ACC powerhouse Duke on Sunday.
"We didn't execute particularly well tonight but we did just enough to win a game against a good team," Myers said.
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