Hokies Sprint By Tigers In Divisional Matchup

by Panchito Ojeda

Blacksburg, VA - The #8 Hokies traveled to #3 Clemson in a matchup of divisional opponents.  In 2020 these teams split the series with VT winning the regular season and Clemson nabbing the playoff win.  On Sunday, the Hokies prevailed 21-11.

Clemson opened the game with three quick goals while the Hokies failed to clear the ball and the Tigers capitalized.  The Hokies then found their rhythm and the first quarter finished with the Hokies in the lead 6-4. The second quarter would feature the Hokies continuing to find ways to score and shooting out to an 11-6 going into halftime but also starting down 2 minutes of man-down.

In the second half, the Hokies were able to get a stop on man-down as well as earn a penalty of their own.  They were able to capitalize on that and score in a 5-4 situation to extend the lead to 12-6.  Anchored in net by Hunter LeClair (14S, 11GAA) the Hokies were able to keep a lid on an excellent Clemson offense while finding opportunities to score themselves and taking a 15-9 lead into the fourth quarter and eventual 21-11 win.

The Hokies were lead on offense by Jared Cole (4G, 3A) and Aidan Smith (4G, 1A).  Combination of Daniel Gaffney & Adam Greenfield held their own at the dot going 44% against some of the best in the country and the defense was locked down by Walker Everhart ('23) and Patrick Droney ('25).

The Virginia Tech Burners of the Game were Kyle Sudler ('24) and Patrick Droney ('25).

"This was a tremendous team win" stated Head Coach Panchito Ojeda "Our defense lead the way with some hard nosed possessions and we had over 10 players register points which fits perfectly with our brand of team lacrosse."

The Hokies host divisional opponent NC State on Friday April 8 @ 7pm in Blacksburg.