DURHAM, N.C. -- After three straight losses here in Durham, including a defeat during their 1999 national championship campaign, No. 6 Virginia finally silenced the demons of Koskinen Stadium by defeating Duke Saturday, 11-8.
The Cavaliers (7-2, 2-1 ACC) broke open the game after two and a half quarters of evenly-matched play with the Blue Devils (5-5, 0-3 ACC), scoring four goals in five minutes of the third quarter to grab a comfortable lead, which they would hold onto the rest of the afternoon.
Senior midfielders Chris Rotelli and Billy Glading each had a hat trick, and sophomore attackman Joe Yevolli dished out three assists for the Cavaliers. The victory moves Virginia into a three-way tie for first place in the ACC with North Carolina and Maryland going into this weekend's conference tournament.
"If you win an ACC game on the road, you have to be happy about it, especially this time of the year," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "This was a close, hard fought game and I knew it coming in. For us to come on the road and get a 'W' like this, I'm very pleased."
The Cavaliers held a 4-3 lead early in the third quarter, but a 30 second pushing penalty by junior defenseman Brett Hughes and a 60 second unsportsmanlike conduct call on senior defenseman Ned Bowen left Virginia two men down with Duke holding the ball.
The Cavalier defense was able to stop the Blue Devils from scoring over the duration of the penalties, and Rotelli netted two quick goals to give Virginia its first sizeable lead of the game.
"That play was pivotal because we went on our run right when we stopped them after that penalty," Starsia said. "Those are the plays where the game is going to be decided."
Another score by senior midfielder A.J. Shannon and a pair from Glading completed a five-goal third quarter performance for the Cavaliers that put the Blue Devils in a deficit they were unable to overcome.
"After the first half we realized that if we start moving better without the ball more we were going to get better shots," Rotelli said. "We made a conscious decision to come out in the third quarter to move better and we did, so we got good shots and we happened to hit on a few of them."
Virginia goalie Tillman Johnson stopped 11 shots for a save percentage of 58, but the Blue Devil offense still managed to keep the score close for most of the game.
Quick Duke attackmen Matt Rewkowski and Matt Monfett often proved too fast for the Virginia defenders Saturday. They each scored three goals, mainly on open shots on the run within a few feet of the goal.
"I thought the Duke attack played well, especially attacking us from behind the goal," Starsia said. "They beat us on some one-on-one dodges. We're not a team that slides quickly to our poles necessarily, and that's where they hurt us a little bit."
The Blue Devil offense outshot the Cavaliers, 38 to 33, but Virginia picked up more ground balls (41 to 37). Midfielder Jack deVilliers also won 13 of 22 face-offs for the Cavaliers, outperforming the tough Duke face-off platoon of Kevin Cassese and Will McDonald.
Because of the traffic jam at the top of the ACC standings, Virginia's opponent for the conference tournament has yet to be determined. The Cavaliers will face either Maryland, North Carolina or Duke in the first round Friday night at Klöckner Stadium.
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