The No. 19/18 Clemson’s women’s lacrosse team defeated Virginia Tech 16-12 in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Saturday.

For almost the entirety of the game, the Tigers (11-5, 3-5 ACC) and Hokies were toe-to-toe. It was toward the end of the final quarter when four different scorers poured in shots to seal the win for Clemson.

At the end of the first quarter, the Tigers were down 4-3 and needed to respond heading into the second. They picked up their tempo, scoring four goals in as many minutes, but the Hokies (8-7, 3-5 ACC) responded and tied the score halfway through the quarter.

Graduate attacker Maddy Moloney was the only Tiger to record any assists in the game, tallying four total, one of which was to attacker Gianna New, who broke the 7-7 tie and gave Clemson an 8-7 lead going into the locker room.

The Tigers kept a slight lead until the middle of the fourth quarter when Virginia Tech tied up the game, 12-12.

Here, head coach Allison Kwolek’s explosive offense was able to power through the Hokies’ defense and go on a run to put four goals in the cage and make the final score 16-12. 

Shots between the teams were pretty even, although Clemson gained the upper hand with 33 shots compared to Tech’s 29. Goalie Emily Lamparter had an impressive 11 saves, three of which were from free-position shots, to aid in the Tigers’ success.

Senior Hanna Hilcoff led the offensive charge, as the attacker had a team-high six goals on the day. New, Marina Miller and Belle Martire each scored a hat trick in addition to one trip to the cage from Chloe Willard.

Clemson also stayed in control of draws, maintaining possession of 18 out of the 32 taken against the Hokies.

The Tigers will play their final regular season game against Pittsburgh at Historic Riggs Field on Thursday at 5 p.m. EDT.