The Virginia women’s lacrosse team defeated Florida State 15-7 on Sunday at the Seminole Lacrosse Complex in Tallahassee. With this win, Virginia improved to a 4-4 overall record and 3-1 in the ACC, while Florida State dropped to 2-7 and remains winless in conference play.
Virginia took an early lead, scoring its first goal just 35 seconds into the game. Florida State tied the score at 2-2 late in the first quarter, but Virginia responded with four consecutive goals and maintained control for the rest of the contest. The Cavaliers led 6-3 at halftime and extended their advantage to seven points early in the fourth quarter.
Junior midfielder Kate Galica set a new program record for career draw controls during the second quarter, surpassing Aubrey Williams’ previous mark of 332. Galica finished with 11 draw controls, bringing her career total to 339. She now holds Virginia’s records for single-game (17), single-season (179 in 2025), and career draw controls.
Galica also contributed three goals and one assist. Sophomore attackers Gabby LaVerghetta and Fiona Allen each recorded their first career hat tricks; LaVerghetta scored four goals while Allen added three.
Graduate student goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle made ten saves, marking her second consecutive game with double-digit stops.
Head coach Sonia LaMonica commented on the team’s performance: “Our draw team has continued to set us up with possession control, which put us in the driver’s seat today. Kate has been such a catalyst, and it’s impressive to see her break the UVA draw control career record in just her third year. I thought FSU played us tough throughout, and cleaning up some stick work errors will be important moving forward. I’m proud of our group for showing consistency across all quarters, both in defensive stops and offensive output.”
Madison Alaimo led Virginia with four assists. The Cavaliers outshot Florida State 28-21 overall and dominated draws by a margin of 16-8, including a decisive 9-1 edge in the first half.
This match marked Florida State’s inaugural season for women’s lacrosse and was the first meeting between these two programs.
Virginia will next host No. 18 Princeton on Wednesday, March 11 at Klöckner Stadium before facing No. 11 Clemson on Saturday, March 14 in a game scheduled to air on ACC Network.
