TECH LACROSSE COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AGAINST HIGH POINT

BLACKSBURG – High Point (4-4) edged past Virginia Tech (7-5, 2-3 ACC) in a nail-biter on Sunday, securing a 14-13 victory.

Coming into Sunday, the Hokies were on a two-game skid, with losses coming against ACC foes Stanford and North Carolina. High Point came in hot on a two-game win streak.

The last time these two teams met was back in 2016, where the Hokies won in overtime with the exact same score, 14-13, although this time around, results turned on its head.

All season, the Hokies have struggled in Blacksburg, winning only one out of their five home games. Without star Lauren Render, the team struggled to find offense.

Both teams traded goals early, with Tech’s Grace New opening the scoring before High Point’s Reese Dowigiallo answered to tie the game. The first quarter saw a flurry of goals, ending with the Panthers holding a narrow 5-4 lead.

The High Point attackers continued to dominate throughout the second quarter. Panther’s Shannon Smith and Dowigiallo both racked up hat tricks at the end of the first half. The Hokies kept it close, while junior Molly Rae found the back of the net twice in the period. 

The Panthers went into halftime with a 9-7 lead over Tech. 

Scoring slowed in the second half, with Virginia Tech held scoreless in the third quarter. Meanwhile, High Point added three more goals to extend their lead to 12-7 heading into the final period.

In the final 15 minutes, the Hokies dominated the quarter, but it was too little too late. Tech scored six total goals and dominated the draw control, 7-2. Scoring was spread out between five different players from the Hokies in the fourth. 

In the last 2:30 of the game, the Hokies came roaring back from a four-goal deficit, scoring three goals in that time period. With 30 seconds left on the game clock, the Hokies won the draw but were unable to find the back of the net to tie the game.

Although the Hokies came up short, standout players stepped up in the absence of their leader Render. Rae and New each racked up hat tricks while goalkeeper Aaliyah Jones reached her fourth game with double-digit saves.

The Hokies will travel to Durham to take on the Blue Devils on Saturday, March 29 and look to end their three-game losing streak. High Point will take on Presbyterian College on Wednesday, March 26, while they look to stay hot and win four straight.