Collegiate Times

The Virginia Tech women’s lacrosse team (0-1) kicked off their 2010 season with a 13-9 loss to the Drexel Dragons (1-0) Saturday at Moseley Field.

The team played at their practice field due to the snow-ridden conditions of Thompson Field.

Tech scored first but did not hold the lead for long.  The Dragons and the Hokies traded goals for most of the first half, culminating in a 7-5 halftime deficit for Virginia Tech.

“I think we let the physical stuff – the fouling and the pushing- get to us,” junior co-captain Allie Emala said.  “We needed to be mentally stronger and use it to our advantage more. I think we more got beat up by it.  There was a point in the first half where we were in our flow and we let them take it back and we didn’t reverse it.  We continued to fight, but we never turned it around and made it our game.”

Plagued by less than accurate passes and miscommunication, the Hokies deficit continued to grow and was never overcome.

“We weren’t talking as well as we should have and we needed to settle and get the franticness out of it to play our game,” freshman goalkeeper Alexis Carey said.

The Hokies cut the lead to one after a great spin move by Caitlin Wier in the 20th minute.  Tech thought they tied the game up just five minutes later, only to have Emala’s goal be called back.  The deficit remained at one and only grew from there.

“In transition, it seemed like we couldn’t get it past midfield into the attack and I think that’s where we broke down,” junior co-captain Dylan Garner said.  “I think we’re using our conditioning to the best of our advantage, we just need to be able to make the shots and finish.”

In a rivalry where nine yellow cards emerged this time last spring, several more came out Saturday.  

At one point after a minor foul was called against the Dragons on the far sideline, a Drexel player shoved down Tech’s Sam Voelker, who had to be carried off the field. Her injury status is not yet available.  

The Drexel player in question received a red card and was ejected from the game. Voelker’s teammates indicated that it appeared to be a knee injury.

Despite the loss, the Hokies were able to take away some positives from their opener.

“As far as what we gain from this, I would say a lot of ground really,” Garner said.  “Just knowing how it feels – we had a lot of freshmen out there – so now we know this is not what we want, this is not what we want to feel. “

In the battle for the starting goalkeeper spot, both freshmen – Carey and Alex Gale – played for a half, with Carey starting and Gale taking over after halftime.

“I think we’re still trying a lot out here. Each goalie brings something different to the team,” Garner said of the goalkeeper situation.  “They’re still fighting for their positions as far as who’s going to play and who’s not going to play.  It’s still up in the air.”

The lacrosse team has a week off before they face Presbyterian at Thompson Field Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m.

“As hard of a loss it is, I think we can learn from it,” Emala said.  “We’re going to go out to practice next week and we’re going to beat up on each other to get ready for Presbyterian.”