Elon WLAX Phoenix Takes Tough Loss at No. 14 Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Elon University women’s lacrosse fell down by seven goals in the opening 15 minutes and couldn’t recover in a 17-4 loss on the road Saturday, Feb. 17, at No. 14 Virginia.

FINAL STATS

THE RUNDOWN
Though Virginia opened the afternoon with a pair of goals in the first two minutes, Kelsey Dupere cut the UVA lead in half with a free position goal 147 seconds into the game to cut the Cavalier lead in half. But Virginia responded after Dupere’s strike with a 6-0 run to go up 8-1 nearly 14 minutes in.

After the tough start, Elon settled in and outscored UVA 2-1 in the final 15 minutes of the half on goals from Summer Larese and Nicole Sinacori, but Virginia took a 9-3 lead to the break. Following the tough defensive start, the Phoenix held UVA to just two goals in a span of 23:44 spanning the first and second halves.

While Elon had held UVA off the board, it couldn’t climb back in itself before Virginia got on a roll again in finishing on a 7-1 run in the final 22:39 of game action.

HIGHLIGHTS
Sinacori tallied her first two goals of the season in the loss. She also had an assist for a team-best three points. Dupere and Larese also tallied to round out Elon’s scoring. Stephanie Asher finished with a team-high three draw controls and Dupere had two. Shannon Horan paced Elon with three ground balls while Bridget Lamb and Tori Cipollone had two each.

Maggie Jackson led all players with seven points on four goals and three assists. She also picked up three ground balls and five draw controls. Kasey Behr netted three goals and had five draw controls with two caused turnovers. Sammy Mueller also scored three times and had two ground balls and two draw controls.

UP NEXT
The 21st-ranked Phoenix will close out a three-game road trip to open the season on Sunday, Feb. 25, when it visits Notre Dame. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. After that, Elon will come home for three in a row starting March 1 against High Point.