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Virginia women’s lacrosse defeats Penn in NCAA Tourney

uva-logo-new2Virginia women’s lacrosse attacker Casey Bocklet (So., South Salem, N.Y.) scored four goals to lead eight different UVa scorers as the Cavaliers posted a 12-6 victory over Penn Friday afternoon at Georgetown University’s Multi-Sport Field in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship.

With the win, the Cavaliers advance to the second round of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship and will face host and No. 6-seed Georgetown Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Multi-Sport Field.

“This victory is a huge relief,” said head coach Julie Myers. “You do so many things to try to get to May and keep May going for as long as you can. The players have done a great job stepping up to challenges and playing well as a team. We are super-excited to have beaten the Ivy League champion. Penn is a great team, so that is great confidence and momentum for us heading into Sunday’s Georgetown game.”

The Cavaliers (10-9) took an early 2-0 lead on goals by Caroline McTiernan (Sr., Garden City, N.Y.) and Liza Blue (So. Butler, Md.) in the game’s first two minutes.

Penn (11-6) tied it at 2-2 on a free position shot by junior Tory Bensen at the 15:42 mark in the first half and held its first and only lead of the game at 4-3 when senior Caroline Bunting scored off a helper from freshman Nina Corcoran.

Virginia closed out the half with three goals, including scoring a pair in the final minute, totake a 6-4 lead at halftime.

 

The Cavaliers would run off another five goals, the first two by Blue, to open the second half as part of an 8-0 run that spanned 28:31.

Bunting ended the Quakers’ scoreless drought with 4:30 remaining netting her second goal of the game to score her 100th career point.  After suffering a hard foul from Virginia senior goalie Kim Kolarik (Sr., Riva, Md.), she notched her fourthpoint of the game finding Corcoran at the top of the 12-meter fan for the uncontested tally with 39 seconds remaining.

Virginia held a 30-20 edge in shots and a 13-7 advantage in draw controls, including 7-2 in the decisive second half. Courtney Swan (So., Vero, Beach, Fla.) won seven drawcontrols.

“Our defense today really started with winning the draw and Courtney Swan did a great job withthat,” Myers said. “When it was actually defense’s turn to defend, I thought they made some huge stops, came up with ground balls and just really rattled Penn to start the second half. Kim Kolarik stepped up and made some nice interceptions. A couple of times when Penn had a really good look at the net, Kim was there to make some huge saves. I feel the whole team played some great defense today.”

Kolarik finished the game with seven saves, including five in the second half.

Bocklet scored three of her four goals in the first half, including the game-tying shot with 3:01 remaining and a score with 3.2 seconds left in the period. It was the seventh time this season she scored three or more goals in a game.

“It was really exciting,” Bocklet said. “We played really well all over the field. Our defense played awesome and was able to capitalize on Penn mistakes and our offense was finishing. It was a great effort. I think we are playing so well together when it matters, so it is exciting. We are looking forward to Sunday.”

Blue finished the game with three goals, her second hat trick in the last three games. She also had a four-goal performance in the victory over Duke in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

Maddy Keeshan (Jr., Greenwich, Ct.), one of the Cavaliers top defenders this season, had been shifted to playing midfield, scoring her first goal of the season on a freeposition shot in the first half. Lelan Bailey (Sr., Millersville, Md.), another defender, had the first assist of her two-year Cavalier career.

Virginia also got goals from two different first-years with Kelly Boyd (Fr., Baltimore, Md.) and Taylor Ranftle (Fr., Hauppauge, N.Y.) netting second-half goals.

Virginia holds a 7-3 edge in the all-time series against Georgetown and is 2-0 in NCAA Tournament games against the Hoyas. The Cavaliers lost the last meeting, 8-7, in Charlottesville, Va. on Apr. 9, 2008.  The Cavaliers and Hoyas last met in the NCAA Tournament on May 21, 2004 in the national semifinals with Virginia prevailing 12-9 in Princeton, N.J. and went on to win the national championship.

Tickets for Sunday’s game are $8.00 for guests ages 18+ and $5.00 for guests ages 3-17. All guests 2 and under are free. Tickets are available for sale in advance as well as on the day of the game at the ticket tents located at the gate to the field. The ticket tents will open an hour before first draw. The same ticket prices and policies will also be applicable for Sunday’s game.

Seating at Multi-Sport Field, located in the middle of the Georgetown campus, is general admission and first-come, first-served. Tickets and locations are subject to availability. All fans ages 3 and older must have a ticket for admission. All information regarding ticket prices, how to purchase tickets in advance, parking, directions, etc. can be found athttp://WeAreGeorgetown.com/tickets/womens-lacrosse/.

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