Blacksburg, Va. — The High Point University women's lacrosse team defeated Virginia Tech, 14-13, for the Panthers' third straight win. It was High Point's third win over the Hokies and first since 2015 while it was the first Panther victory in Blacksburg, Va.
The Panthers were led by junior
Reese Dowgiallo, who totaled a career-high eight points with four goals and four assists.
Shannon Smith also had a strong performance with four goals herself, while sophomore goalie
Ava Welsh shined with 14 saves.
Site: Thompson Field
Score: High Point 14, Virginia Tech 13
Records: High Point (4-4), Virginia Tech (7-5)
Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell: "I'm just really proud of the way the girls competed today. They never gave in or gave up. They stuck together and followed the game plan. We made a few adjustments throughout the game, and they believed in themselves and each other. It was pretty obvious early in the game that Virginia Tech was going to put their best defender on Esprit, so to see those two juniors, Reese and Shannon, work so hard and work so well together and step up, was huge. I'm so proud of our whole defensive unit right now, but especially Ava. She stayed big and strong and rolled with the punches in the cage. The seniors today did such a great job of keeping composure and leading this group. I want to credit the seniors for putting themselves out there all week long in preparation for this. I can't say enough about those girls. I love them so much and I'm so proud of them."
High Point started off hot on offense, with a Dowgiallo goal that was assisted by
Esprit Cha. The Panthers then took a 2-1 lead as Cha continued her dominant season with her 30th goal.
Virginia Tech took a 3-2 lead, but
Jaidyn Donley ripped a free position shot, off-stick side high to knot the game up at three. The back-and-forth play continued as the Panthers matched another Hokies goal with a Smith free-position goal.
A spin move by Smith drew a foul, and she converted on the eight-meter to take the 5-4 lead heading into the second quarter.
High Point opened up the quarter just as quickly as Dowgiallo scored her second goal of the day, creating a play from the "X" position. Virginia Tech then stopped the Panthers' 3-0 scoring run with back-to-back goals to tie the contest at 6-6.
Allie Connally found herself in the scoring department — with 9:48 remaining in the second quarter — with the Panthers' fourth free position goal of the first half.
Just under two minutes later, Smith completed the hat trick and scored her 18th goal of the season, giving the Panthers another two-goal lead, 8-6.
With 3:19 left in the first half, Connally found Dowgiallo to give High Point a 9-6 lead, as she became the second Panther of the day to secure a hat trick. Virginia Tech got back on the scoreboard as the Panthers went into halftime up 9-7.
The quick start in quarters continued in the second half for the Panthers as
Bella Germani scored off a Dowgiallo assist to bring the Panthers to double-digits.
The Panthers found success a women-up as Smith scored her fourth goal of the game off a pass by
Tatum Goettelmann, while Dowgiallo found
Lily Trout to give the Panthers a five-goal lead.
Welsh and the Panther defense held strong, keeping the Hokies scoreless in the third quarter as the goalie was dominant.
Virginia Tech eventually scored with 12:35 remaining in the game, making it 12-8 for the first Hokies' goal in around 20 minutes of game time.
After the Hokies scored again, the Panthers ended their own scoring drought with a Cha goal that was assisted once again by Dowgiallo.
The Virginia Tech defense held strong in the final quarter as the offense was able to find the back of the net two more times before Dowgiallo continued her fantastic performance with her fourth goal of the game, 14-11.
The Hokies brought the game back down to two with 58 seconds remaining, and then scored again with 35 seconds left to bring the score to 14-13. Virginia Tech had an opportunity to capitalize with under 10 seconds, but were unsuccessful as High Point held on to win.
Up Next: The High Point Panthers will head to Clinton, South Carolina, for a midweek matchup against Presbyterian College to begin Big South Conference play on Wednesday, March 26, at 4 p.m.
#GoHPU
