Feb. 28, 2008

McCulloch leads No. 2 Cavaliers to 16-7 win over Richmond

The No. 2 Virginia women's lacrosse team used a dominating attack and stingy defense to overcome the Richmond Spiders, 16-7, Wednesday afternoon at First Market Stadium.

Junior Ashley McCulloch tallied a game-high six points on three goals and three assist to extend her scoring streak to 25 straight contests. Sophomore Kaitlin Duff tied a career-high four points on three goals and an assist, while senior Megan O'Malley notched three goals to record the 50th of her career. Junior Jenny Hauser contributed three goals also. Redshirt sophomore Whitaker Hagerman and sophomores Brittany Kalkstein and Caity Whiteley rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece.

Defensively, Duff collected five ground balls and caused four turnovers and Kalkstein won five draw controls. In goal, senior Kendall McBrearty stopped four shots, while junior Sara Hairfield, playing in her hometown, stopped one in 4:31.

The Cavaliers tallied nine goals in the opening half while holding the Spiders to just three shots and 11 turnovers to take a 9-2 advantage into the intermission. O'Malley opened the scoring 4:40 into the game, firing a shot past Marrocco, sparking an 8-0 run for Virginia.

Hokies get first win of season over Tribe

Virginia Tech won its first game of the season, 11-7, against the William & Mary Tribe on Wednesday afternoon at Tech Lacrosse Stadium. The Hokies' 6-5 lead after the first half was no fluke as Tech fired the first five goals of the second.

Kady McBrearty's second goal of the game started the five-goal streak with 27:24 left on the clock. Allie Emala and Kate Tracy were quick to follow, each having a goal in a the span of three minutes.

Emala's goal marked her third of the game as well as a career high for the midfielder. Kristy Zeigler continued Tech's success by scoring with 18:37 on the clock, soon followed by Rachel Culp's hard drive for a goal.

With 16:53 left in the second half, the Hokies led 11-5.

Overall, Emala had a hat trick, marking a career high for the freshman. Kate Tracey, McBrearty and Culp had success on offense, scoring two goals each.