Sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton and freshman attack Steele Stanwick tallied three goals apiece during the No. 1 Virginia men’s lacrosse team’s 11-2 victory against Towson at home Saturday.
The Cavaliers (9-0) took an early lead, scoring on three of their first four shots, and never surrendered the advantage during Saturday’s rainy game. Stanwick scored the first two goals of the match, followed quickly by a goal from Bratton. Senior attack Gavin Gill added another before the end of the first quarter, bringing Virginia’s lead to 4-0.
“I feel like we came out in the beginning of the game and played very well in the first quarter,” coach Dom Starsia said. “But then I thought we made a couple of little mental errors in the second quarter. We let them control the ball for the most part.”
Towson (1-4) did mount a small rally during the second quarter. The Tigers scored two quick goals on back-to-back extra-man situations, which marked their only goals of the game. Virginia, however, was unable to capitalize when the extra-man advantage went the other way.
“They weren’t able to run by us, so we just needed to stay out of the penalty box,” Starsia said. “They were a dangerous team on the extra man. At the other end, we’ve been pretty good on extra man, but I feel like we haven’t been sharp enough.”
Bratton added two more goals before the half to give the Cavaliers a 6-2 lead.
The Cavaliers’ dominant defense held Towson to only 19 shots all day. The only area of the game in which the Tigers performed noticeably better than their opponent was face-offs, as the visitor won 12 compared to Virginia’s five. Towson proved unable to make something of that statistical advantage, though, committing a season-high 32 turnovers as players struggled to gain their footing on the muddy surface.
“I think [the weather] probably was more beneficial towards the defense,” senior defender Matt Kelly said. “It seemed like guys were slipping all over the place and luckily we were able to hold our ground and play good defense.”
Virginia came out strong in the third quarter, with senior midfielder Steve Giannone notching two quick goals to atone for a foul in the first half. Stanwick added his third, and senior attack Garrett Billings got on the board before the third quarter ended. Senior attack Danny Glading contributed another goal midway through the final quarter to round out the scoring.
“We just wanted to keep playing our game,” Stanwick said. “We knew the shots were going to fall and coach just told us to execute. That was the real goal — just execution.”
Virginia now moves to a less-busy schedule with only one game per week. Its next opponent, however, may require all the Cavaliers’ extra time for preparation. Virginia visits perennial lacrosse powerhouse Johns Hopkins next Saturday in Baltimore, Md.
“We will probably enjoy this win, and we will check out the film,” senior defender Chad Gaudet said. “Coach will put together a good game plan for practice this week.”
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