BLACKSBURG, Va. – The High Point University women’s lacrosse team mounted a late comeback but fell just short in an 11-10 loss at Virginia Tech on Wednesday. The Panthers’ scored the final four goals of the game but couldn’t get a game tying one in the net despite several chances in the final minutes. Senior Mackenzie Carroll scored four goals to lead the Panthers.
“I felt like we were the better team coming in to today but we just didn’t execute and weren’t as focused or disciplined as we needed to be,” said head coach Lyndsey Boswell. “In our sport more so than others momentum swings can determine the outcome and we can’t expect to win a game in the last 10 minutes when there are 60 minutes to play. I feel like if we can put a full 60 minutes together then we’ll be in good shape but right now we have to spend the next two weeks figuring some stuff out and preparing for UMBC.”
The Panthers and Hokies were tied at 6-6 before Virginia Tech scored five unanswered goals to pull away 11-6 from HPU. The Panthers stormed back with four unanswered of their own to bring the score to 11-10 with 4:32 remaining but couldn’t find an equalizer.
HPU had several great scoring opportunities in the final couple of minutes. HPU’s first attempt came when Alec Perry passed the ball into sophomore Emily Meier who sent a shot high while falling down. Kendyl Gardnerfollowed that up with a shot on goal that was saved by VT’s goalie, Meagh Graham. HPU kept possession, which led to a free-position shot by Carroll. Carroll’s shot was once again saved by Graham. The Panthers final and arguably best opportunity came with 19 seconds to go when Jasmine Jordan was awarded a free-position attempt. Jordan took the attempt and sent a free-position shot that hit off the post and rolled out to a Virginia Tech defender to end the game.
Carroll’s four goals led the Panthers while the Hokies’ Meg Bartley also scored four in the contest. Carroll now leads High Point with seven goals on the year. Gardner and Perry each added two goals for the Panthers.
The Panthers fell behind early with Virginia Tech scoring the first three goals of the afternoon. Following the Hokies’ third goal with 18:50 left on the clock in the first, HPU finally broke through on a goal by Carroll. Carroll followed that up minutes later with another unassisted goal to pull High Point within one, 3-2. The rest of the first half was a battle for possession and featured a 13 minute scoreless streak.
Hokies’ junior Jack Boissonneault broke that streak with her first goal of the season with 1:50 left in the half. A yellow card for a dangerous propel on VT’s Kristine Loscalzo gave the Panthers a man-up advantage for the final minute of the first period, which the team capitalized on when Jordan hit senior Sara Kuhlman in front of the net who sent a shot while on the run past Graham with three seconds to take the Panthers into half down 4-3.
The two teams traded goals until the game was knotted at 6-6. VT’s Jessi Thon scored with 17:31 to break the tie and put the Hokies ahead for a final time, 7-6. Bartley then tacked on her third and fourth goal of the day followed by a pair of goals by Megan Will to expand the lead.
Perry stopped HPU’s 14 minute scoreless drought with a goal with 7:20 remaining in the contest to bring the Panthers back within four, 11-7. The goal sparked HPU’s comeback with Gardner scoring her second goal, Carroll putting in her fourth and Perry capping the scoring with her second goal of the day.
High Point ended the game with a 15-9 advantage in draw controls. Junior Julia Burns posted a game-high 10 saves in the cage for HPU.
High Point continues its tough road stretch of games next week when the Panthers travel to UMBC to take on the Retrievers at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 5 in Catonsville, Md. This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.