HIGH POINT N.C. — On St. Patrick's Day, the High Point University women's lacrosse team stood across the field from the ACC's Virginia Tech Hokies. The Panthers fell shy on Tuesday night, 9-4. High Point was led by Shannon Smith and Jaidyn Donley, who both scored two goals each, and Ava Welsh in the cage as she finished with 12 saves for a 57.1 save percentage.

Smith has scored two or more goals in all seven games for the Panthers, while Donley's finished with a pair of goals in back-to-back games and the goalie Welsh had her third game with double-digit saves.  

SITE: Vert Stadium

SCORE: High Point 4, Virginia Tech 9

RECORDS: High Point (0-7), Virginia Tech (7-4)
 

Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell: "I'm so proud of our defense and Ava holding them to nine goals in the game. I thought we were extremely cohesive in almost every area tonight. I'm proud of our grit and fight, but we need to execute on offense. When we put a full game together, it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm excited to start conference play and lay out everything non-conference games taught us. I love this team."

Trout with the interception ?? Donley puts the ball in the net??#GoHPU pic.twitter.com/QRSVVcEDWk

— HPU Women's Lacrosse (@hpuwlax) March 17, 2026

The Panthers got on the board first with a Smith goal off of a pass from Anna Checkosky. Smith then scored her second St. Patty's Day goal this time receiving the ball from Lily Trout. High Point took a 2-1 lead into the second quarter. 

That's 2?? for Smith in the first quarter on St. Patty's Day??#GoHPU pic.twitter.com/v0tdeyaBQc

— HPU Women's Lacrosse (@hpuwlax) March 17, 2026

HPU found itself with a two-goal lead with a Donley goal with 6:49 remaining in the first half. The Panthers defense remained strong off of six Ava Welsh saves — an 85.7 percent rate — and took a 3-1 lead into halftime. 

After a Virginia Tech goal, Donley scored her second goal of the game, via a pass from Smith as the Panthers were a woman-up, making the score 4-2. The Hokies went on a 7-0 run to end the game.

1??6?? stays strong once again!#GoHPU pic.twitter.com/JJrkr8HM4k

— HPU Women's Lacrosse (@hpuwlax) March 17, 2026

Tatum Mehring recovered three ground balls, while Anna Westervelt, Smith,  Bella Germani, and Trout each scooped up two. Donley caused two turnovers, and Welsh paired her 12 saves with four ground balls.

Up Next: The Panthers head to Rock Hill, S.C. to face off against the Winthrop University Eagles for the team's first Big South Conference game of the season. The matchup will take place on March 25 at 4:00 p.m.

#GoHPU x #RollThers