No. 5 JMU Rallies to Beat No. 12 UVA Women's Lacrosse 10-8

The Cavaliers had the fifth-ranked Dukes on the ropes early in the fourth quarter as they held a two-goal lead on the road. But UVA ran out of gas down the stretch as No. 5 JMU closed the game on a 5-1 run and rallied to beat No. 12 Virginia women's lacrosse on Wednesday at Sentara Park in Harrisonburg. 

When these two teams met a year ago, it was a high-scoring affair with 30 total goals scored between the two teams and JMU prevailed 16-14. This season's matchup was the polar opposite. 

The defenses, and in particular the goalies, ruled early on as neither team scored for the first 11 minutes of the game. JMU's Taylor Marchetti eventually scored the first and only goal of the first quarter to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead. It could have been much worse for Virginia had goalie Ashley Vernon not made a staggering six saves in the opening period to keep the deficit at just one goal. 

The Cavaliers remained scoreless until midway through the second quarter, when Ashlyn McGovern finally found the back of the net for Virginia's first goal nearly 22 minutes into the contest. McGovern added another goal a few minutes later and then assisted on a Mackenzie Hoeg goal as UVA went ahead 3-1. JMU answered with an unassisted goal from Savannah Derey, but Virginia took a 3-2 lead into the halftime break. 

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair with UVA and JMU trading goals until McGovern and Hoeg notched back-to-back goals to take a 6-4 lead. Katelyn Morgan scored in the final two minutes of the third for JMU to make it 6-5 going into the final frame. 

Kate Miller registered her third assist of the game in the first minute of the fourth, finding McGovern inside for her fourth goal, giving Virginia a 7-5 lead. UVA had a chance to take control at that point, but the Dukes had one last run in them. Savannah Derey and Olivia Mattis scored two-straight goals to tie things up. Jamie Biskup answered with an unassisted goal to put Virginia back in front, but that would be UVA's final goal of the game. Tai Jankowski scored on a free position to tie the game again and then Maggie Clark scored a little over a minute later to give JMU the lead. Crucially, the Dukes won each of the last four draw controls, allowing them to regain the lead and then limit Virginia's possessions as the Cavaliers tried unsuccessfully to battle back. 

Mackenzie Hoeg had a shot on the doorstep with 2:30 remaining, but JMU goalie Kat Buchanan made the big-time save. JMU then converted on its next possession as Derey put the nail in the coffin with her third goal of the game. The Dukes won the ensuing draw and killed nearly the entire remainder of the clock as JMU secured the 10-8 victory. 

Goalie play was pivotal in this matchup, as JMU put 21 shots on goal and Virginia had 20 shots on goal. UVA goalie Ashley Vernon had 11 saves and JMU goalkeeper Kat Buchanan had 12 saves. Draw controls were 15-7 in favor of JMU and UVA was whistled for 28 fouls as compared to just 19 for JMU. 

Ashlyn McGovern led Virginia offensively with four goals and an assist, but only three other Cavaliers scored in the game. JMU, meanwhile, had a balanced scoring attack with Savannah Derey scoring three goals as one of seven Dukes to score in the game. 

Virginia falls to 7-3 on the season and has little time to recover before hosting another ranked opponent as No. 11 Notre Dame comes to Klockner Stadium on Saturday at noon. 

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