Women’s lacrosse: No. 7 Virginia tops Richmond, 18-12

The No. 7 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (2-1) defeated Richmond (2-1) 18-12 on a soggy Turf Field Wednesday evening after the game was delayed 18 minutes due to lightning.

The game was tied 4-4 with 11 minutes remaining in the first half when Virginia used a 5-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. UVA led by as many as seven and didn’t allow Richmond to get any closer than four goals for the remainder of the game.

“Richmond was really feisty and athletic,” head coach Julie Myers said. “They made us play some great defense down the stretch. I am excited we were able to rise to the challenge. We scored 18 goals, which is a lot of offense. There are things we need to clean up, but we have the right energy moving forward.”

The Cavaliers had a hot-shooting night, scoring 18 goals on 32 shots (.562). Six different players scored and five of those had multiple goals. Juniors Besser Dyson (Alexandria, Va.), Posey Valis (Baltimore, Md.) and Kelly Reese (Severna Park, Md.) each finished with a career-high four goals.

Sophomore Kasey Behr (Northport, N.Y.) scored three goals, senior Kelly Boyd (Baltimore, Md.) finished with two and freshman Maggie Jackson (Alexandria, Va.) added one. Dyson, Jackson and Valis each tallied an assist.

“Whenever you are hitting over 50 percent you have to feel pretty good,” Myers added. “Some of those goals came from really pretty places and from high percentage areas. I thought we shot well, but put ourselves in good position to score those goals as well.”

Virginia jumped on the board first with two goals in the first two minutes by Valis and Reese. Richmond scored on a free position shot, but Reese, who scored three goals in the first 17 minutes, notched her second to make it 3-1. The Cavaliers led 4-2 when Richmond netted two-straight to even the score.

UVA then used a 5-0 run to stretch the lead to 9-5. Boyd started the run with back-to-back goals. Valis, Dyson and Behr each scored on free position shots. Dyson’s came with one second on the clock as the Cavaliers took an 8-4 lead into the half.

With a 9-5 lead in the second half, the Cavaliers extended their lead to 13-5 with a 4-0 run that included three-straight goals from Dyson. Richmond closed the cap with a 4-0 run of its own to make it 15-11 with 11:32 to play, but back-to-back goals by Behr and Reese put Virginia ahead 17-11. Richmond and Virginia scored with six minutes to play to make it 18-12.

Mia Castagnero scored a game-high five goals to lead Richmond.

UVA led Richmond in ground balls (15-12), draw controls (17-15) and saves (9-5), but committed 15 turnovers to 13 for the Spiders. Sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Vander Kolk (Severna Park, Md.) tallied all nine saves for the Cavaliers.

Behr and Jackson each picked up five draw controls for UVA, while Vander Kolk and senior Mary Alati (Glen Ridge, N.J.) led the team with four ground balls apiece.

Virginia continues it homestand on Saturday as it hosts No. 6 Penn State at 12 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers welcome William & Mary on Wednesday, March 2 before beginning ACC play against No. 2 Syracuse on Saturday, March 5.