Search

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech Athletics Department
 25 Beamer Way Blacksburg, VA 24061
Division 1 Virginia Northeast
Public Very Large National competitor
I'm interested in this program!

Coaches

Email coach

Kristen Skiera

As she enters her third season with the Hokies in 2024, it is well-documented around Blacksburg and the country alike that Kristen Skiera has Virginia Tech lacrosse headed in the right direction. The program has seen an increase in wins during both seasons that the former All-American player has led Tech.


Through Skiera’s first two seasons with the Hokies, her squads have picked up three ranked wins, including victories on the road at JMU and Duke. The 2023 season saw Tech pick up its second ACC Tournament win in program history with a 12-goal triumph over Pitt before nearly pulling the upset of the year against No. 2 Syracuse in the quarterfinals.


A trio of freshmen – Sarah Gresham, Ella Rishko and Jocelyn Torres – earned conference honors at the end of their rookie seasons in 2023 for their immediate impact. Gresham set the program’s single-season draw control record with 111, which led all freshmen in NCAA DI women’s lacrosse. Rishko scored 44 goals, including an ACC record-tying seven goals in the ACC Championship first round match against Pitt. Torres started all 19 games in cage for Tech and posed the second-best goals-against-average among all freshman goalies in the country.


All three of the freshmen were invited to tryouts for the U.S. Under-20 (formerly Under-19) team following the season, following in the footsteps of Skiera, who was a member of the 2003 World Championship team.


Olivia Vergano, originally an Army commit that came to Blacksburg with Skiera, added her second national honor in her sophomore season, as she was named an honorable mention All-American by USA Lacrosse. The West Babylon, N.Y. native also earned All-ACC second team recognition and was one of five players in NCAA DI women’s lacrosse to have 50+ goals and 106+ draw controls in 2023.


The 2022 season saw graduate student Sarah Lubnow break the program record for assists, as she finished her career with 73 and departed Tech after her best statistical season, in which she scored 46 goals and 63 points to rank fifth all-time in points scored in program history.


Lubnow earned second team All-ACC honors and Olivia Vergano was an All-Freshman Team selection. Additionally, Lubnow was named an honorable mention All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine. Vergano collected IWLCA South Region Second Team honors as well as Inside Lacrosse All-American honorable mention honors.


Skiera successfully guided Army’s transition from a club team to a varsity sport in 2015 and led the team to four consecutive winning seasons. Competing in the Patriot League, the Black Knights compiled a 46-40 record at the varsity level under her leadership. She also helped the squad turn in four consecutive seasons with a winning record at home, posting a 19-6 mark at Michie Stadium from 2018-21. Skiera has developed 12 All-Patriot League performers, as well as the program’s first-ever Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Caroline Raymond.


The Black Knights boasted three first-team all-conference performers under Skiera in 2021, including Army’s all-time leading scorer, Jackie Bratton. Despite a truncated 2020 campaign, the Cadets produced a 7-0 mark to make them just one of eight NCAA Division I women’s teams to finish the year undefeated. Army ranked first in the nation in draw control percentage (.677), tied for second in fewest goals allowed per game (7.29) and ranked 15th in scoring offense with 15.29 goals per contest. The Black Knights held six of their seven opponents to single-digit goals and ranked seventh in the nation in scoring margin after outscoring the opposition by 8.0 goals per outing.


Skiera elevated the Army program to new heights in 2019. She not only guided the team to a school-best 14-5 record, but also to a third-place finish in the Patriot League standings after registering a program-best 6-3 mark in league play. Army competed in its first-ever league tournament and claimed a quarterfinal win vs. Lehigh. The 2019 season included a seven-game winning streak to start the year, as well as a program-high nine home victories.


She arrived at West Point after spending two years as an assistant coach at her alma mater under head coach Kerstin Kimel. During those two seasons, Skiera helped lead the Blue Devils to back-to-back NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearances, along with producing four Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-Americans.


Before returning to Duke, Skiera served as an assistant coach at Navy for two seasons, working with Hall of Fame head coach Cindy Timchal. While in Annapolis, Skiera helped Navy to a combined 33-9 record, back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and Patriot League Championships in 2011 and 2012. She spent the 2010 season as an assistant coach with UC Davis’ women’s lacrosse program and helped dramatically increase the Aggies’ offensive production. The Aggies racked up 14.06 goals per contest in 2010 after netting 10.06 goals per game in 2009.


Prior to her time at UC Davis, Skiera worked two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Navy, aiding the Midshipmen in their transition from the club level to Division I for the 2008 campaign. In 2008, Skiera served as the co-head coach of the Dutch national women’s lacrosse team, leading the squad in the 2008 European Lacrosse Championships in Lahti, Finland.


The Ellicott City, Md. native completed an impressive four-year playing career at Duke in 2007, twice earning All-America honors and was a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Award. She graduated as the school’s career leader in assists (116) and ranked second with 277 points. Additionally, Skiera is tied for fourth on the Blue Devils’ career goal scoring list (161). She was part of Duke squads that won four regular season ACC championships, as well as one ACC tournament title.


In January of 2018, Skiera was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Greater Baltimore Chapter Hall of Fame. She began her stellar career at Mt. Hebron High School where she led the team to four consecutive state titles. She was named Baltimore Sun Female Athlete of the Year, twice (2002 & 2003) and was the All-Metro Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year as a senior in 2003.


Skiera married her husband, Kyle, in 2016. The couple has two daughters; Caslen and Lane.

show more
Email coach

Shannon Jacobitti

Shannon Jacobitti (formerly Gilroy) joined the Hokies in the summer of 2021 as the associate head coach, following a five-year stint with Kristen Skiera at Army.


Working primarily with midfielders, Jacobitti was integral in Virginia Tech’s most successful season with draw controls in program history during the 2023 campaign. Freshman Sarah Gresham’s 111-mark broke Virginia Tech’s single-season draw control record, while sophomore Olivia Vergano eclipsed 106. The Hokies the only team last season in NCAA DI women’s lacrosse with two players with over 5.5 draw controls per game.


Whitney Liebler led the squad in assists with 29, a total that ranks tied for third for a single season in program history. She scored 53 total points in 2022.


For the first time since at least 2008, the Hokies' offense featured three athletes that scored 50 or more points as sophomore midfielder Sophie Student tallied 50 with 38 goals and 12 assists.


Two Hokies had historic seasons on the draw circle with Student tallying 80 which is the sixth-most in a single season at VT and freshman Olivia Vergano's total of 73 ranks eighth.


Jacobitti joined the Army West Point women’s lacrosse coaching staff in August 2016 and in just five years on the staff helped develop Army into not only one of the top draw control and offensive units in the Patriot League, but also in all of Division I. Over the past three seasons, the Black Knights have finished in the top four in the league in draw controls and inside the top-four in goals per game while setting program records in numerous offensive categories. During that stretch, the Cadets have also ranked inside the top-30 nationally in draw controls per game.


Offensively the Cadets put on a strong showing, finishing third in goals per game (12.78) while topping the rankings in shots per game (31.78). The high-powered Army attack guided the team to a 5-2 conference record and a five-game win streak to end the regular season. Jacobitti's guidance also resulted in a league-best 11.44 turnovers per game.


Despite a shortened 2020 season in which the Black Knights were one of just eight teams in Division I with an undefeated record, Jacobitti had the Cadets on a scoring tear through the first seven games of the year. On top of carrying a 7-0 record, the Black Knights boasted the nation’s top draw control unit after winning 68 percent of their draws. Army had scored in double figures in each of the seven outings while ranking 15th nationally in goals per game (15.29).


Jacobitti was part of program history during the 2019 season as the Black Knights played to a program-best 14-5 record and a third-place finish in the Patriot League standings after recording a 6-3 mark in league play. Army played in its first-ever league tournament and claimed a, 12-9, win in the quarterfinal round versus Lehigh at Michie Stadium. The successful season also included a seven-game winning streak to start the year, a program-high nine home wins and countless records broken.


Jacobitti worked closely with Jackie Brattan, who led the nation in free position shot percentage as a sophomore and became first cadet in program history to eclipse 100 draw controls in a single season. Julianna Dworschak and Samantha Stewart also were threats on the draw, compiling career highs of 87 and 79, respectively. The trio were one of just three in 2019 to all record over 70 draws for the season, joining the likes of Boston College, Notre Dame and Maryland. For the season, Army finished 16th nationally in draw control percentage (.574) and tied for 17th in draw controls per game (15.32).


Jacobitti also helped coach Brattan, Stewart, Manuela Cortes and Caroline Raymond to All-Patriot League postseason honors. Raymond was additionally tabbed the rookie of the year in the Patriot League and by the ECAC following a year in which she set the program record for points and assists.


In 2018, Jacobitti also worked with one of the deepest draw control units in the nation as Amy Johnston (85), Stewart (47), Brattan (46) and Dworschak (42) were one of just eight units with four different players recording 40 or more draw controls, along with Boston College, Coastal Carolina, High Point, Maryland, Navy, Princeton and San Diego State.


She mentored Johnston to the program’s first All-Patriot League First Team honors and at the time, a program-record 85 draw controls. Johnston became one of two players in program history at the time to eclipse 100 career points, joining teammate Rachel Hornick.


The Black Knights were equally deep in the attacking zone with eight players posting 20 or more points, six of whom eclipsed the 20-goal mark. Hornick led the offensive group for the second consecutive year in goals (25), assists (23) and points (48), documenting the program’s first season with 20 goals and 20 assists.


In her first season at Army, Jacobitti instructed Hornick to the program’s first 50-point season with 40 goals and 13 assists. She also worked closely with Army’s first postseason honorees as Manuela Cortes and Kiersten Spencer were named to the All-Patriot League Second Team.


Prior to West Point, Jacobittiworked primarily with the attack and midfield units at Vanderbilt and mentored Second Team All-BIG EAST honorees Kelly Chandler and Emma Dagres.


Jacobitti also brings a wealth of top-level playing experience, including competing on the United States Women’s National Lacrosse Team since June 2015. She was one of 24 players to represent the United States during a foreign tour to England in the summer of 2016.


She has gained additional experience as a member of the Long Island Sound of the United Women’s Lacrosse League, the world’s first-ever professional women’s lacrosse league. Jacobitti was drafted 10th overall by Long Island during the inaugural United Women’s Lacrosse League Draft in April 2016.


Prior to playing at the national and professional levels, Jacobitti enjoyed a standout playing career at the University of Florida, where she was a two-time finalist for the Tewaaraton Award presented annually to the top player in the nation.


A three-time All-American at Florida, Jacobitti helped lead the Gators to three conference titles and four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the Final Four in 2012. She was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year in 2015, while earning All-Tournament Team honors each year. - in the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and in the BIG EAST in 2015. Additionally, Jacobitti was named ALC Midfielder of the Year in 2014 and was an Inside Lacrosse BIG EAST Player of the Week.


Jacobitti finished her career ranked tied for eighth in the NCAA Division I record books in career goals (256) and tied for 16th in points (320).


Jacobitti graduated from Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 2015.

show more
Email coach

Taylor Paige

Taylor Paige enters her second season with Virginia Tech, joining the staff in August of 2023. She works primarily with goalies and assists in day-to-day operations.


With Paige's guidance in 2024, Hokie goalies tallied 158 saves and allowed one less goal against per game than their opponents. Tech's shot stoppers also saw an increase in save percentage compared to the 2023 season. Sophomore Jocelyn Torres started every game in net for the Hokies during the 2024 campaign, finishing with a 9-9 record while recording a .427 save percentage on 427 shots faced, tallying 131 saves. Graduate keeper Lilly Kannapell also saw appearances in eight matches between the pipes, saving 27 shots with a final save percentage of .540. Torres and Kannapell both showed their talents in helping Tech outscore its opponents from the commonwealth, 62-45.


Paige joined Tech after most recently serving as a lacrosse operations assistant at the University of Virginia for two seasons. She was a key member on a staff that saw the Cavaliers make two NCAA Tournament appearances.


Prior to working at Virginia, she spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Shenandoah University. The Hornets had an increase in conference win percentage each season where Paige was on staff. Before the 2020 season was suspended, Shenandoah started 7-0 in nonconference play, outscoring opponents 113-57 for an average of 8.14 goals allowed per game.


Before joining the Hornets, Paige served as an assistant coach, with a focus on goalies, at Bridgewater College. In the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the Eagles had ten All-ODAC selections, including two goaltenders.


During Paige's collegiate career, she was a four-year contributor at Mary Washington. In 2014, she recorded a 100% save percentage game in her first season as a starter, etching her name in the CAC record books.

show more
Email coach

Molly Dunphey

Molly Dunphey was named an assistant coach by head coach Kristen Skiera in July of 2024.


Dunphey, a native of Ridgewood, N.J., wrapped up her collegiate career in the spring of 2024 with the Hokies following a four-year stint at Villanova. In four seasons of play, the defender appeared in 68 contests and made 65 starts.


“I would like to thank Coach Skiera for this amazing opportunity,” Dunphey said of her appointment. “I am excited to be back at Virginia Tech after enjoying my time playing last season. The future is so bright for this team, and I cannot wait to be a part of it. Go Hokies!”


A cornerstone of Virginia Tech’s defense that allowed just 11.06 goals per game (11.95 national average), Dunphey ranked second on the team in ground balls (27) and third in caused turnovers (16).


While at Villanova, Dunphey served as a team captain in her senior season. During that 2023 campaign, she recorded 27 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers, while Villanova more than doubled its win total from the previous season.


“I am incredibly proud to welcome Molly to our staff,” Skiera said of the staff addition. “As a player, she was a tireless worker, student of the game, unbelievable communicator and reliable leader. We feel so fortunate to be adding a person to our staff that is so passionate about the future success of the program. It was an easy decision to entrust her in this role. Welcome back to Blacksburg, Molly!”


In 2024, the Hokies registered a third consecutive .500-or-better season, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since 2011-13. Tech held 10 opponents to single-digit scoring tallies and 11 teams below their season scoring average in the spring.

show more

College Bound Athletes

Showcase Tips

Are you ready for your next college showcase?
I have used the Soccer in College site for 8 years, and it has helped me keep my personal and soccer information up to date, and has helped be track college contacts and interest. I think the site helped me prepare for college offers, and helped me determine that I wanted to play for UNC.
- Maggie PierceWhat are others saying?