Virginia women’s lacrosse made the most of their in-state trip to Harrisonburg, Va. Wednesday when they faced James Madison. The Cavaliers (6-3, 2-2 ACC) started off hot and fought late to keep their lead against the Dukes (5-3, 1-0 AAC), coming out with the 14-11 victory.
A large part of Virginia’s win was their superior discipline between the lines. James Madison accumulated 15 fouls throughout the match, outweighing the Cavaliers’ nine. Eliminating unnecessary infractions aided in Virginia’s momentum, especially during a strong second quarter showing.
Virginia also showed incredible grit to seal the deal in crunch time. A seven-goal lead at halftime was all but erased after James Madison’s offensive explosion early in the third quarter, but the Cavaliers recovered and dug deep to see the result out. Coach Sonia LaMonica emphasized this fact postgame.
“I thought we did a much better job of coming out with fire, keeping our foot down, playing with confidence and executing well,” LaMonica said. “We knew at halftime that this is a team that wasn’t going to go away, and sure enough, they rallied back. I just felt like our team showed grit and toughness.”
Just seconds into the contest, Virginia was on the attack. After the Cavaliers’ defense forced a turnover early on the Dukes’ first possession, sophomore midfielder Kate Galica got Virginia on the board first. Soon after, freshman midfielder Payton Sfreddo converted on a free position attempt to extend the Cavaliers’ lead. Both teams would go on to trade goals twice to end the quarter.
Once again, Virginia applied the pressure immediately after the whistle sounded to resume play. Galica got the Cavaliers started, showcasing some dazzling footwork to beat two defenders and find sophomore attacker Addi Foster, who rifled the ball into the bottom right corner. Foster’s strike started a five-goal run for the Cavaliers, with Sfreddo, freshman attacker Gaby LaVarghetta and Galica adding to their totals.
James Madison was able to pull one back soon after, but Sfreddo found the net again with just 16 seconds left in the half to ensure Virginia kept their seven-goal lead. Going into the halftime team talk, LaMonica had plenty of reasons to be happy with the squad, as they led by a 10-3 margin.
Yet the Dukes came out firing in the third quarter, in part thanks to the Cavaliers’ own miscues. Four turnovers and two cards allowed James Madison to collect momentum. Although Virginia found the net twice in the period, the Dukes narrowed the margin to just three. Going into the final period of play, the Cavaliers would need to clean things up to avoid a James Madison comeback.
Virginia knew what was needed, and they executed it well. Senior goalkeeper Abby Jansen subbed in for sophomore goalkeeper Mel Josephson, and made an immediate impact. Three clutch saves —- paired with two goals from Foster — were enough to make sure the Cavaliers added to the win column.
Virginia’s win marks the second ranked win in a row, following a tough loss against North Carolina. The Cavaliers have grown into their offense as the season has progressed, and look more and more like ACC contenders.
The Cavaliers are back in action against Pittsburgh at Klöckner Stadium Saturday, which is set to start at 3 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on ACCNX. The matchup is an important confidence booster before Virginia travels to face a tougher opponent in No. 9 Syracuse the following week.
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