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Jacob Sprigg
Staff Writer
April 17, 2024
Virginia Tech fell in its regular season finale for UVa on Wednesday night. (Virginia Tech Athletics)
BLACKSBURG – No. 6 Virginia (13-3, 6-3 ACC) came marching into Blacksburg with hopes of leaving Thompson Field in Blacksburg with a victory in the Commonwealth Clash, doing just that in a narrow 14-12 win over rival Virginia Tech (9-8, 2-7) on Wednesday night.
Coming into the game, the Hokies had previously been dominated by Notre Dame, 20-9. The Cavaliers were looking to extend their win streak to four, with two of their three most recent wins coming over ACC foes. The Hokies have struggled in ACC play over the course of the season, now finishing an aforementioned 2-7 in conference games.
Both teams came out playing very physical on both sides, offensively and defensively. The Hokies started with the hot hand, scoring the first two goals in the first quarter. The Cavaliers finally got on the board to finish the first quarter, with Tech up one.
UVa came out firing offensively throughout the second quarter, racking up six total goals in the quarter. Virginia Tech was able to put in three goals in the quarter, making the halftime score 7-5 in favor of the Cavalier
The remainder of the game was very evenly fought, where both teams went back and forth exchanging goals. Both teams scored four goals each in the third, and three goals each in the fourth, finalizing the score of 14-12 on the side of Virginia. Graduate students Katia Carnevale and Kiki Shaw shined in the Commonwealth Clash, scoring nine out of UVa’s total 14 goals, with Carnevale having five of own and Shaw having four.
One Hokie stood out in the rival game, sophomore Lauren Render, where she was able to find the back of the net a total of four times, multiple of those coming from free position goals. Four other Hokies were also multiple goal scorers throughout this competition.
Head Coach Kristen Skiera was very positive about the way her team competed despite the loss.
“That was the most cohesive game we’ve had,” Skiera said. “That’s how a rivalry game should be. … There are the most positive things to take away from this game.”
Both teams head into the ACC tournament with positive records overall on the season, the Hokies finishing at 9-8, and the Cavaliers finishing 13-3.
Skiera shared a few words on how she feels about her team going into the postseason.
“We have to draw momentum from this game, it was our most complete game,” Skiera said. “I think this helps build belief and confidence, we just went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country.”
The Hokies will begin their postseason journey with the ACC tournament, squaring off in the first round on Sunday.
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