Virginia Women's Lacrosse Beats Virginia Tech 14-12 in Commonwealth Clash

Matt Newton | Apr 18, 2024

Katia Carnevale / Virginia Athletics

That's another point for the Virginia Cavaliers in the Commonwealth Clash.

Katia Carnevale scored five goals and Kiki Shaw added four to lead No. 6 Virginia women's lacrosse (13-3, 5-3 ACC) to a 14-12 victory over Virginia Tech (9-8, 2-7 ACC) in the regular season finale on Wednesday night at Thompson Field in Blacksburg.

The Cavaliers got off to a slow start, not scoring for the first 13 minutes of the game and letting the Hokies jump out to a 2-0 lead. Jenna Dinardo found a lane to the cage for UVA's first goal of the game with 2:33 to go in the first quarter and Mackenzie Hoeg scored early in the second quarter to pull Virginia even.

Virginia Tech regained the lead for a few minutes, but then Hoeg found the back of the net again and Maggie Bostain scored in transition to give the Hoos their first lead of the game. The Hokies tied things up, but then Kiki Shaw scored back-to-back unassisted goals and Dinardo scored her second to put UVA ahead by three. Kayla Downey ended the Virginia run with a goal with 19 seconds left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 7-5 UVA at halftime.

Though the Cavaliers never relinquished the lead, the game wasn't in hand until the very end as the Hokies refused to quit. A goal from Lauren Render brought the Hokies back within one late in the third quarter, but Kiki Shaw responded with a goal to give Virginia an 11-9 lead entering the final period.

Katia Carnevale scored a highlight-reel shovel goal from a sharp angle early in the fourth quarter, the first of two fourth-quarter goals Carnevale scored to help the Cavaliers protect their lead.

Carnevale is a PROBLEM tonight 🔥#SCTop10 #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/dx32OSyHZ7

— Virginia Women's Lacrosse (@UVAWomensLax) April 18, 2024

Virginia Tech twice got back within two in the final minutes, but the Cavaliers held on for the 14-12 win.

Thanks largely to 11 draw controls from Kate Galica, who broke the UVA single-season freshman record for draw controls in the game, Virginia had a 16-13 advantage in draw controls, outshot Virginia Tech 34-26, and had 25 shots on goal as compared to 18 for the Hokies.

Katia Carnevale led the Cavaliers with five goals and Kiki Shaw tallied four goals on six shots. Mackenzie Hoeg and Jenna Dinardo each had two goals and an assist. Madison Alaimo had one assist on the night, but it was a special one, as it allowed her to break Virginia's single-season freshman assists record with 22 helpers.

The victory gives UVA another point over Virginia Tech in the 2023-2024 Commonwealth Clash, which Virginia now leads 10.0-6.5.

Virginia concludes the regular season with a 13-3 overall record and a 6-3 mark in the ACC. UVA's seeding for the ACC Tournament is still to be determined pending the results of some other games around the league, but the Cavaliers are guaranteed to be a top five seed in the bracket and will have a first-round bye into the quarterfinals. Virginia will play in the quarterfinals of the 2024 ACC Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Wednesday, April 24th at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte.