The Elon University women’s lacrosse team played its second Atlantic Coast Conference opponent of the season Feb. 23, falling to Virginia Tech, 17-7.
It was an ambitious matchup for Elon (0-3) in the team’s start to the season, but the high level of competition is highlighting a lot of potential for this new team. Elon’s transition game was strong as the team finished 11 of 13 in clear attempts, its highest percentage all season. Between the pipes, goalie Rachel Ramirez tallied a career-high 16 saves, with 11 in the second period, and picked up six of the team’s 13 ground balls on the day. The Phoenix put away seven of its 15 shots, 12 of which were on frame, and took advantage of its opportunities on the front line going 2-for-3 in free-position plays.
Five different Elon players found the back of the net, led by Molly Garrigan with four goals. Annie Shenk, who leads the team with six total goals, added another along with Ally Konzel and Anna Vitton who each had one.
Hokies got out to a strong start, scoring five consecutive goals to open the game on Thompson Field. Elon’s Garrigan shut down that run as she buried her first career goal 15 minutes into the half, making it a 5-1 game. After another Hokie goal, Garrigan netted her second goal on a free-position shot to bring the Phoenix within four at 6-2.
Two more goals by the Hokies put them at an 8-2 lead headed into the half with an 18-6 advantage over the Phoenix in shots.
Elon came out of the half and put away back-to-back goals early in the second period. Garrigan and Konzel helped close the gap making it an 8-4 game, but the Hokies answered back with two goals of their own. Garrigan scored her fourth goal off a pass from Sloane Kessler and another goal by Vitton brought the game to 10-6 with just over 12:30 remaining.
Then, a Hokie timeout ignited their attack into a 6-goal run that put the game out of reach for the Phoenix with eight minutes left. The Hokies had a 10-goal advantage at 16-6, until Shenk scored off of a free-position shot with just over a minute remaining in the game. But, once again, Tech’s Megan Will answered with the last goal of the game with 18 seconds left to close out the match at 17-7 in favor of the Hokies.
Virginia Tech took 25 shots in the second half and took the shooting advantage with a 43-15 edge over the Phoenix. Wills and Julia Heaps led the Hokie attack finishing with four goals each. The Hokies also finished on top in draw controls, winning 22 of 27 in the game. Taking the defensive win was Tech’s goalie Meagh Graham who posted three saves in the first period and was followed up by Hannah Sieger in net in the second half.
In its next outing, Elon will take the field for its first home game in program history. The Phoenix will host St. Francis University (Pa.) at 1 p.m Saturday, March 1 in Rhodes Stadium.