April 6, 2011
No. 11 Virginia escapes Hokies, 12-10
Widlake, Emala bury three goals each
12F
Virginia Tech (8-6) 2810
(11) Virginia (8-5) 9312
  • Klockner Stadium - 1,131

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A valiant second-half effort would see the Virginia Tech lacrosse team come up just short, 12-10, against the No. 11 Virginia Cavaliers at Klockner Stadium on the Virginia campus. The Hokies outscored the ‘Hoos 8-3 in the second half after being down 9-2 at halftime but Virginia was able to come up with the victory.

Senior Allie Emala and junior Morgan Widlake paced the Tech offense with three goals each, while Charlie Finnigan led the Cavaliers with four scores.

Both teams began the rivalry game attacking as Virginia (8-5, 1-4 ACC) was on the board with a goal from Julie Gardner, but Tech (8-6, 1-3 ACC) quickly answered after Emala came around a crowd in front of the goal and flicked in a speeding pass from senior Caitlyn Wier, who was behind the goal.

Less than 30 seconds later Gardner tacked on another goal that would spark a 6-0 run for the Cavaliers. After four consecutive scores for Virginia, Tech called a timeout in attempt to regroup. The break in action forced the ‘Hoos into a five-minute scoring drought, but they picked back up with just over ten minutes remaining in the half.

The Hokies finally broke through the Virginia defense with 3:30 to go in the half when Widlake put away a free position attempt, but they were unable to get anything going.

The Cavaliers, who outshot Tech 16-7 in the first half, closed out the first stanza with two goals with under 15 seconds remaining, including a quick relay and flick-in at the buzzer after the final draw.

Despite the score, the Hokies came out of the break with great energy and began the second half with a 3-1 run in the first 10 minutes. Virginia ended the run with two goals of its own, but Tech stole the momentum from the Cavaliers and responded to the second goal exactly 10 seconds later after winning the draw and immediately attacking.

The quick score sparked a fire under the Hokies, as they closed out the game with five straight goals and would nearly cancel the difference.

Wier dropped in a quick pass from Widlake after junior Ryan Rotanz won the draw control to spark the rally. Sophomore Emile Hunter was the next to strike after she buried a pass from Libby Rosebro in the middle of the defense.

Widlake got a goal of her own minutes later, and Nonn kept things rolling after she found the rebound of her own far-out shot and was able to capitalize on a closer look.

Emala capped off the run with her third goal of the game under the five-minute mark, but Virginia was able to run out the clock after the goal and preserve the win.

Fouls were the demise of the Hokies in the game as they tallied 26, a new season high.

This is the smallest margin of victory the Cavaliers have ever had in the 17-game series, and just the third time Tech has ever tallied double-digit scoring against Virginia.

Sophomore Alex Gale finished the night with five saves, while Virginia’s Kim Kolarik tallied seven in the game.

Tech will return to action on Saturday, April 9 when it will take on Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., at 1 p.m.

For updates on Virginia Tech lacrosse, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Lax).

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