Paige Tyson's four goals lifts Virginia Tech past VCU in Head Coach Skiera's first Home game, 17-9

By Duncan Weigand

Staff Writer

February 19, 2022

BLACKSBURG — Adversity and chemistry: these two words are thrown around quite a bit, especially in sports. Alone, the two words don’t mean much. It’s not until context is added that you begin to truly understand the meaning behind these words—words that head coach Kristen Skiera, and Jr. Paige Tyson used when describing this Virginia Tech team’s season so far.

“I think when looking at the Jacksonville game, there were a lot of pre-game jitters and nerves,” Kristen Skiera, head coach of Virginia Tech, said. “I don't think anyone performed at their highest potential. But I’m thankful for that game. It put us through a bit of adversity, we had to turn around quickly after that.”

Virginia Tech was able to respond to that adversity as it got a historic win over No. 13 JMU. Coach Skiera made sure to mention how pleased she was to get a win like that in her first year. She said she wanted to change up the narrative and put Hokies’ lacrosse on the map.

So, when VCU (1-1) walked into Thompson Field on a cold and blustery February day the energy was felt from the fans who came to show their support for their new head coach in her home debut.

It was a chilly 40 degrees right around game time. The wind was blowing strong and fast, an astonishing 18 miles per hour. This is a normal February day in Blacksburg, but the weather seemed to put VCU off their game early.

Multiple dropped balls and errant passes by the Rams led to quick offensive chances for the Hokies.

Virginia Tech seemed to be taking control early in the first as it quickly took a 3-0 lead courtesy of Olivia Vergano, Hannah Mardiney and Whitney Liebler, who would all go on to have multi-goal games for the Hokies.

Vergano’s second goal of the game put Virginia Tech up four. The stunned Rams couldn't keep up with the Hokies’ electrifying offense who forced their will with clean, crisp ball movement and quick shots that were up close and personal.

The Rams’ timeout after the fourth goal did the trick for a while as two quick strikes cut the lead in half.

However, the Hokies snuffed out any sort of life that the Rams may have had when they scored two goals in rapid succession to take a 6-2 lead. Paige Tyson’s first of four goals she would score on the day, was the cherry on top as she rifled a shot top shelf past a stunned Meghna Dawar. Tyson’s goal increased Virginia Tech’s lead to five.

Tyson wasn’t pleased with her performance against Jacksonville, as she was only able to net one goal. She responded with a better performance against JMU where she scored twice. In the game Saturday she was able to score four times. Tyson only seems to be getting better as the season goes along and that’s something that should excite Hokie fans.

“I’ve honestly gained a lot of confidence,” Paige Tyson said. “ When we played Jacksonville we didn’t have as much chemistry as a team and I didn’t play well. Even in the first half today I wasn’t shooting well, but my coaches told me to shoot. It’s nice to have that confidence from your coaches.”

There’s that term “Chemistry.” A team with great chemistry encourages and shows faith in their players.

A more even second quarter saw the Rams show some life as they clawed their way back into the game. The Hokies were able to put some shots into the back of the net, but VCU showed that it wouldn’t go away just yet, and the score was 9-6 as both teams headed to the locker rooms for half time.

The third quarter started off well for Virginia Tech as Paige Tyson snapped a quick shot to give the Hokies a 10-6 lead. VT took control of the game in the second half, and a game that looked like it might have been close down the stretch quickly became a rout.

The game continued with the Hokies scoring multiple goals that would be answered by a goal or two by the Rams.

The freshman Olivia Vergano netted her third goal of the game early in the fourth quarter to give Virginia Tech a 14-7 lead.

“As a freshman in a starting role, I really have to thank my coaches and the other players around me,” Olivia Vergano said. “Especially Paige [Tyson] for helping me stay poised and calm.”

Virginia Tech remained poised and calm itself as it closed out the game with five more goals while only allowing two. The Rams walked out of Thompson Field with their heads down in defeat as Virginia Tech celebrated a great team win. A win that saw the Hokies put up 17 goals while only allowing nine. A win in which multiple players had multi-goal games, five players to be exact.

So what is next for Virginia Tech? The Hokies, who have now won two in a row against schools in Virginia, will welcome in another in-state opponent. The Liberty Eagles will look to get their first win this season against the Hokies. Virginia Tech will look to get its third win of the season and its third win against a team in the Commonwealth. The game is set for Wednesday Feb. 23 at Thompson field.