Just over 48 hours after the second-ranked Virginia men's lacrosse team (7-0) captured a key 7-6 victory over 5th ranked Princeton, they took the field against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (0-4). It was not the prettiest of wins, but Virginia still rolled to a 16-5 victory, giving the Cavaliers their 16th consecutive home win, a new school record.
"Setting this record means a lot to everyone on the team especially our seniors," senior midfielder J.J. Morrisey said. "I've never played in a better atmosphere, barring the Final Four."
Things started off rather inauspiciously for the Cavaliers, who seemed a bit flat after the short turnaround between games. Mount St. Mary's captain Tilghman Herring registered his first of two goals in the opening minutes to give the Mountaineers a surprising 1-0 lead. It marked the third straight game Virginia trailed to start the game. The Cavaliers answered with 12:26 to go in the opening quarter on a goal by Steve Giannone, assisted by Ben Rubeor. Two more goals by Will Barrow and Rubeor put Virginia in command before Matt Warner answered for the Mountaineers to cut the gap to 3-2.
"[I] give Mount St. Mary's credit", senior defenseman Michael Culver said. "They came out here and got us down early."
After struggling early, Virginia seemed to settle down, scoring eight unanswered goals to make the score 11-2. The margin would have been even worse if not for the stellar play of Mountaineer goalie Joe Zolezzi. Zolezzi picked up 20 saves in the first half, twice as many as Virginia's counterpart, Kip Turner, had against the Princeton Tigers for the entire game. Unfortunately for Zolezzi, though, none of his teammates were able to help him out. The offense was incapable of holding onto the ball, committing twenty turnovers. The defense allowed 59 shots and the Mountaineers lost 15 of the first 16 face-offs.
After the scoring barrage, Virginia was able to essentially coast to victory. Ten different players scored goals for Virginia, including three by both Giannone and attacker Drew Garrison. Herring and Warner led the Mountaineers with two goals each.
Despite the statistical domination by Virginia in virtually every category, the players believe they could have played much better.
"I would rate our effort a 'C'," Morrisey said. "We came out a little flat but we fought through it and got the win. That's all that matters."
Virginia had five penalties and twelve turnovers, both uncharacteristically high for the team, and while it proved insignificant in the final score, it shows that Virginia has areas where it can improve.
"I think it is very important for us to continue to improve," Virginia head coach Dom Starsia said. "We're reaching a point where we are close to being playoff eligible -- We're concerned about being part of it at the end."
Virginia will look to build on its season when it faces a critical road test this Sunday against the 15th ranked Towson Tigers (1-2).
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