No. 18 Clemson falls 18-12 in hard fought battle against No. 14 Virginia

Clemson, S.C. – After pulling within one in the third quarter at a score of 10-9, Virginia (5-1, 1-1 ACC) scored four straight goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter to run away with the game against Clemson (4-1, 1-1 ACC) and win 18-12 on Saturday, March 2 at Clemson’s Lacrosse Complex.

Shannon Brazier registered her first hat trick of the season, joining Claire Bockstie to lead Clemson in goals scored. JMU transfer Caitlin McElwee registered her first goals in a Tiger uniform with two critical goals in the third quarter that built momentum as Clemson began to come back from their 10-6 deficit at the half. 

Clemson won the draw control battle, winning 17 to Virginia’s 14. On the defensive end,  the Tigers came up with seven caused turnovers and goalie Emily Lamparter saved nine of the 27 shots on goal. Additionally Clemson won the majority of the 50-50 balls as they picked up 23 of the 42 ground balls. 

Virginia started the scoring with three goals in the first four minutes. Emma Tilson then notched the first goal of the day for Clemson with 5:04 left in the first quarter. Three more goals from Virginia and one from Clemson’s freshman Alex Scialdone made the score 6-2 going into the second quarter. 

Clemson’s momentum then began to pick up as Claire Bockstie scored in the first 15 seconds of the second quarter. The Tigers would tie the second quarter with the Cavaliers as each scored four points. 

11 seconds into the second half,  Caitlin McElwee scored her first goal of the season. Clemson went on to outscore Virginia 4-2 in the third quarter, entering the final 15 minutes of the game down 12-10. Four consecutive goals from the Cavaliers gave them a more comfortable 16-10 lead in the final 6:35 minutes of the game. Two more goals from both Clemson and Virginia would make the final score 18-12. 

Up Next: Clemson will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Macon, Ga. to play Mercer on Tuesday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m.