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GAME NOTES

BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech lacrosse team returns home on Sunday at 2 p.m. after falling on the road to No. 20 James Madison Thursday afternoon, 18-5. The loss snapped the Hokies three-game winning streak and they will look to bounce back against High Point.

THE HOKIES

Virginia Tech is squaring off against High Point for the sixth time in the series. The Hokies hold a 3-2 edge in games that date back to 2011.

The Hokies lost last year’s matchup with High Point 10-6 despite outshooting the Panthers 26-23. Jessi Thon had an assist in the loss. Tech is 1-0 against teams from the Big South this season as the Hokies beat Gardner-Webb 18-1 on Feb. 13. Tech will face three Big South opponents in the 2016 season with Radford the opponent in its next game.

Tristan McGinley leads the Hokies with 15 total points. She’s tied for the team lead with nine goals and five assists. Thon is second on the team with 10 points and tied with McGinley in goals with nine while she also has one assist.

Tech is outshooting its opponents by an average of 21.0-17.6 per game and outscoring them 9.00-8.60.

Defensively, Tech has only allowed two goals off of 14 free position shots, just 14.3 percent. Hannah Seiger has faced 88 shots in the cage and made 23 saves. She has started every game for the Hokies.

THE PANTHERS

High Point is playing its second game of the season after dropping the season-opener to No. 2 North Carolina, 17-5. UNC jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the game and was up 12-1 on the Panthers at halftime.

The Panthers lost in the second round of the 2015 Big South tournament to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Winthrop, 11-10.

The Panthers return 20 of 28 letter winners from last season, including nine of 12 starters but it is still a young roster that features 20 freshmen and sophomores. High Point was picked second in the 2016 Big South preseason poll behind defending league champion Winthrop.

The Panthers offense is led by Allie Foard who was named the Big South Preseason Offensive Player of the year after posting 58 points, 37goals and 21 assists last season.

Also back for High Point is Emily Meier who is the school’s active leader in career points with 88 and goals with 65. The Panthers midfield has two 2015 All-Big South First Team selections in Leah Pace and Erica Perrota. The pair combined for 52 goals, 23 assists and 70 ground balls in 2015.

High Point is having to replace a two-time All-Big South goalkeeper with a freshman in Molly Andrews.

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