BLACKSBURG, Va. -The Jacksonville University women's lacrosse team took back to the road for the first of two games in the state of Virginia this weekend, taking on #18/16 Virginia Tech in a battle of Top-20 opponents. After falling behind early, the Dolphins (4-0) rallied to take the lead in the second half and following a buzzer-beating goal by the Hokies (2-4) to force overtime, came away with a win in the waning moments of the extra period to collect the program's first-ever win over an ACC foe by a score of 10-9.

"We were very pleased with our execution and poise in key moments today," said head coach Mindy McCord. "The team showcased another game where we overcame adversity. The defensive unit really stepped up and and made critical stops when we needed them. We go exceptional performances from both our goalkeepers and there were a lot of key contributions from all over the field. Jenny (Kinsey) and Sarah (Elms) were our true leaders today on the field with how they performed today. Our team showed a lot of togetherness and belief today and I am extremely proud of the way they performed this afternoon." 
  
Virginia Tech fired the opening salvo in the game, scoring a little less than three minutes into the action and followed with two more goals in the following minutes to take a 3-0 advantage in the early going. Things settled down for a stretch before the Hokies scored their fourth goal of the contest with 16:57 in the first half.
 
Jacksonville's Molly Brock controlled the ensuing draw control and moments later, Jenny Kinsey converted a free position attempt to get JU on the board with their first goal of the game with 16:18 left in the first half. Roughly four minutes elapsed before Lauren Phillips scored Jacksonville's second goal of the game in a man-up situation at 12:21 to make it a 4-2 game. Phillips controlled the draw following the goals and less than a minute later, Mackenzie Boyle scored on a pass from Kinsey to get within one at 4-3.
 
Virginia Tech scored two more goals before the in the final 10 minutes of the half to lead 6-3 going into the intermission. Jacksonville had several opportunities to score in the closing minutes of the period but was turned away by the Virginia Tech goalie who made five saves to end the half.
 
Jacksonville came out of the intermission and scored the first goal of the second half at 26:51 from Kinsey on a pass from Boyle to make it 6-4. The Dolphins crept closer four minutes later when Kinsey scored her third goal of the afternoon from Alyssa Arnold to make a one-point contest.
 
After five minutes of scoreless lacrosse, Virginia Tech converted a free position shot to lead by two once more at 7-5. The following draw control went the way of the Dolphins who wasted now time getting back within one, as Grace Hobson scored for the second-straight game from Sarah Elms to make it 7-6.
 
The Hokies converted another free position goal moments later before Kinsey found the net for the fourth time in the game to keep the pressure on and make it 8-7. Just about two minutes later, Elms netted the equalizer from Lauren Phillips with 12:35 remaining in regulation before giving JU the lead at 9:41 on a ball from Megan Prescott.
 
Jacksonville maintained their lead until the waning moments of regulation, when a yellow card was issued to Casey Sullivan late and the Hokies converted the following free position opportunity to tie things at 9-9 to force overtime.
 
Overtime began with Virginia Tech taking possession and getting the first shot attempt of the period, but Dayna Martinetto came up with the save to keep things even at 9-9. The first half of the extra period saw just the one shot by the Hokies and the second half saw limited opportunities as well a foul by the Hokies gave JU a free position opportunity. Elms' shot was on target but was saved by the keeper, but JU forced a quick turnover and drew another foul, setting up another free-position try. This time, Elms' shot was true, finding the back of the net with less than 90 seconds remaining for her second game-winner of the season.
 
Kinsey led the Dolphins with four goals and assisted on two others, while Elms finished the day with three goals, including another free position game-winner, for her fourth hat trick of the season to go with two assists of her own. Phillips, Hobson and Boyle each scored a goal while Caroline Peterson led JU with three ground balls in the contest. Lauren Phillips, Casey Sullivan and Molly Brock each had two draw controls in the game for the Dolphins. Martinetto recorded eight saves in goal after taking over to start the second half.

 
Jacksonville will be right back in action tomorrow at 12 PM, as they travel to Radford to wrap up their weekend in Virginia.