VILLANOVA, PA - On a soggy Sunday afternoon at Villanova Stadium, the La Salle University lacrosse team claimed a 9-8 victory over the visiting Virginia Tech Hokies.  With the win, the Explorers now stand at an even .500 (3-3), while the Hokies slump to 1-5 for the season.

Junior Kat Prokop (Towanco, NJ/Montville Township) led the way for the Explorers with three goals and one assist.  Kate Henwood (Glen Mills, PA/Garnet Valley) dropped in three points with two goals and one assist in the win.

Prokop got the scoring started early just 70 seconds into the match up on unassisted goal.  Catie Borneman (Landsdale, PA/North Penn) followed suite at the 3:14 mark to give the Explorers and early 2-0 lead.

Virginia Tech freshman Kady McBrearty (Alexandra, VA/Oldfields) was awarded a free position shot on goal at the 4:35 mark and did not let the Hokies down, bringing the Hokies to within one at 2-1.

At the 7:17 mark, the senior duo of Becky Boudwin (Springfield, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) and Henwood worked together to score La Salle's third goal of the game.  After Boudwin's goal, both teams went on a scoring hiatus for close to 17 minutes before La Salle's leading scorer Emily Bonczek (Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta) drilled a shot past Virginia Tech's goalkeeper to push the explorer lead to 4-1.

After the intermission, Prokop started the scoring drive yet again just 1:29 into the half.  Hokie sophomore Brit Faulkner (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron) halted the Explorers run by dropping in the first of three straight goals for Virginia Tech.  Teammate Natasha Fuchs (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) scored next for the Hokies at the 28:10 mark, followed by Lindsey Pieper's (Rensselear, NY/Columbia) goal at 39:51, which narrowed the scoring margin to 5-4.

Henwood answered the call for the Explorers with 15:14 to play to give La Salle a two goal cushion.  The Hokies got right back into the game at the 46:29 mark, when Kelsey Mays (Annapolis, MD/Annapolis) connected on a pass from Fuchs to bring the game to within one again at 6-5.

With just over 10 minutes to play, Henwood took advantage of a Hokie foul and netted her second goal of the game off a free position shot.  Bonczek waited about 90 seconds after Henwood's goal to knock in her second goal of the game to put La Salle up 8-5.  Prokop recorded her hat trick with 7:55 to play to close out the Explorer scoring.

Virginia Tech made one final push, as Fuch scored her second of the afternoon with 3:24 to play, followed by Pieper's goal off a pass from Fuch with 2:38 left in regulation.  Faulkner made the game interesting, getting the Hokies to within one with 20 seconds remaining, but it was not enough, as the Explorers walked away with a 9-8 victory.

The Explorers will return to action at McCarthy Stadium on Wednesday, March 23rd, as they host the University of Oregon Ducks at 3:30 p.m.