In a must-win game, the No. 6 Virginia men's lacrosse squad broke open a 5-5 halftime tie with three consecutive scores on its way to a 10-7 decision over the No. 7 Tar Heels at Klockner Stadium Saturday afternoon. Not only did the much-needed win prevent North Carolina from clinching the ACC regular season championship, it also stopped Virginia's slide in which it lost to Johns Hopkins and Maryland -- teams both ranked in the top-five.
In the first half against Carolina (5-4, 2-1 ACC), the Cavaliers (6-2, 1-1) played like a team with a two-game losing streak. Known for their aggressive play, the Cavaliers appeared tentative at times, their confidence questionable.
"In the first half, we looked so tentative," coach Dom Starsia said. "We were afraid to go to them. Their game in the first half was all one-on-one dodges. That's how they scored all of their goals. We were afraid to get involved, and it looked like we were walking on egg-shells."
North Carolina struck first only a minute into the game on senior midfielder Austin Garrison's unassisted goal. Quickly erasing the early deficit, Virginia raced to a 4-2 lead by the end of the first quarter with the help of freshman Matt Ward's career-high five points, but then sputtered. The Tar Heels capitalized on the host's timid defense by scoring three second-period goals, including a last-second shot by senior midfielder Steven Will that beat the whistle and junior keeper Tillman Johnson, tying the score at five.
"We just tried to tell the guys to relax a little bit," said Starsia, referring to what the coaches told the team during halftime. "Confidence is a delicate thing with college kids, and when you lose two games in a row, [you tend to lose it]. I just told them to settle down and play the game like they're capable of playing it."
The Cavaliers responded to Starsia's pep talk by scoring the first three goals of the second half to take a lead they'd never relinquish. Sophomore attackman John Christmas started the run by taking a feed from defenseman Ned Bowen on a fast-break and beating goalie Paul Spellman. Freshman midfielder Kyle Dixon then contributed a score of his own and was followed a short time later by sophomore attackman Joe Yevoli's second goal of the contest, pushing the Cavalier lead to 8-5. Virginia was suddenly playing with confidence and didn't resemble a squad on a two-game skid.
"I think one of the main things was coach telling us to settle down," said defenseman Brett Hughes, who held attackman Jed Prossner, UNC's leading scorer, to one goal. "Sometimes it takes us a half to settle down. We didn't change anything on defense. Coach [Starsia] just had to remind us to get back to what we've been doing all year. When we've been successful, we're composed and not trying to do too much and we're just trying to do the fundamentals."
A solid defensive performance led by Johnson's 14 saves was responsible for holding North Carolina to a season-low seven goals and only two second half scores. The Tar Heels' two goals in the second stanza cut the deficit to 8-7, but that's as close as it would get, as Virginia added two insurance scores to put the game away.
"I think we played well tonight," said Christmas, who scored a game-high three goals. "In the beginning of the game, we had pre-game jitters because it was alumni weekend, and we were trying to gain possessions and be careful with the ball, but they gradually wore off."
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