Tweet

GAME NOTES

BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech lacrosse team will be back in Blacksburg on Saturday afternoon as they face the Liberty Flames at 5 p.m. at the new Virginia Tech Indoor Practice Facility.

THE HOKIES

Virginia Tech is meeting Liberty for the sixth time overall with the Hokies holding a 5-0 record against the Flames. Coach Megan Burker has been at the helm for all five meetings between the squads.

The Hokies defeated Liberty 15-11 last season in Lynchburg. Gracee Hendrix had two goals on eight shots during the game while Jessi Thon had one goal and two assists.

Tech is returning home after playing two straight games on the road, both of which were victories. Tech beat Gardner-Webb 18-1 on Sunday afternoon and followed it up with a thrilling 9-8 victory at Davidson on Wednesday night.

After trailing 5-0 to start the game, the Hokies closed the gap by outscoring the Wildcats 5-1 to end the first half and were down just 6-5 going into halftime.

Tech would trade the next four goals with Davidson but were still behind 8-7 with 8:10 remaining. After long stretches of possession came up empty for Tech, and with less than two minutes remaining, Meghan Macera scored back-to-back goals with the last one counting as the game-winner with just 22.4 seconds left in regulation.

It was the Hokies’ first lead of the game and the comeback was completed after Davidson gained the ensuing draw control only to eventually turn the ball over before time expired.

THE FLAMES

Liberty is opening its season against the Hokies on Saturday. It marks the fourth straight game in which Tech has been a season-opener for its opponent.

Liberty went 9-11 overall in 2015 which was a program-best. The Flames 5-2 record in the Big South was good for a second place finish during the regular season. Liberty lost to Winthrop 13-8 in the 2015 Big South Women’s Lacrosse Championship in May.

Coach Kelly Nangle is the second head coach in Liberty history and took over in June of 2013. She’s entering her third season at Liberty after coaching at Central Connecticut State.

Back for Liberty are three of the top six scorers from 2015, led by sophomore Katy Pridemore who scored 52 goals and had 68 total points last season. The team overall returns eight starters from last year’s unit along with 22 letterwinners.

In 2015, Liberty ranked ninth in caused turnovers per game with (10.00) and seventh in ground balls per game (19.00). The Flames will have a new goalie this year in either freshman Aubrie Tarris or Katherine Widrick.

The game is the first of two straight the Flames will play on the road to start the 2016 season as they will face the Richmond Spiders next.

For updates on Virginia Tech lacrosse, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Lax