Virginia women’s lacrosse started the NCAA Tournament on a high note with a decisive first round victory against Long Island University Friday. The No. 5 seed Cavaliers (15-4, 6-3 ACC) took home the victory at Klöckner Stadium against the Sharks (11-8, 9-1 NEC) by a 21-6 margin, finding their form in the second quarter to earn a lopsided win.
Throughout the first half of the first quarter, both sides committed turnovers and could not find the net. The Sharks were finally able to break the deadlock when senior midfielder Olivia Fantigrossi scored with 6:43 left on the clock. Soon after, following a disruptive pressure by the Cavaliers on the LIU clear, freshman attacker Madison Alaimo found senior midfielder Mackenzie Hoeg to answer for Virginia. Yet the Sharks responded almost immediately when sophomore midfielder Julia Trainor won the draw and scored in quick succession to regain the lead. A game that had started as a defensive battle had been opened wide with three goals in just over one minute of play.
The Cavaliers would retake the lead following goals by graduate midfielder Kiki Shaw — who beat her mark in an isolation situation — and junior attacker Kate Miller. Virginia and LIU would then trade goals to end the quarter with the Cavaliers leading 4-3.
The second quarter started well for Virginia, and it stayed that way throughout. Senior attacker Morgan Schwab forced a turnover during the Sharks’ clear early into the period which set up graduate attacker Katia Carnevale with a one-on-one chance with the goaltender, a chance that Carnevale dispatched coolly. Freshman midfielder Kate Galica won the following draw to ignite the offense, and Schwab found Hoeg for the score a little more than a minute later. LIU’s defense was finding it difficult to stop anything the Cavaliers threw at them.
Virginia scored eight more times during the quarter, only interrupted by the Sharks’ senior attacker Jen Gaffney scoring midway through the quarter. In addition to Hoeg and Carnevale, Shaw, Miller, Schwab, freshman attacker Jenna Dinardo and freshman midfielder Addi Foster all added to their goal scoring totals. The score was 14-4 at halftime, and the win was essentially sealed for the Cavaliers.
Virginia didn’t hold off on either side of the ball in the second half, making sure to secure Coach Sonia LaMonica’s first NCAA Tournament win with the Cavaliers. Schwab dished out three assists in the third quarter alone, creating goals for Dinardo, Carnevale and Shaw. Miller also boosted her goal total with a free position shot. Fantigrossi was the only player to get on the board for the Sharks during the period, also scoring from a free position attempt.
The fourth quarter saw some involvement from the Virginia bench, with sophomore midfielder Finley Barger scoring her first goal of the season on a decisive cut after Alaimo found her in space. Foster would score her second goal of the day — giving her three for the season — four minutes later off of another perfect pass from Alaimo. LIU would get one of their own during the period when graduate midfielder Amanda Weber won the draw and sprinted all the way down the field to slot it home, but the final score ended 21-6 in favor of the Cavaliers.
Virginia’s offense shined bright in Friday’s big win. Carnevale, Hoeg, Miller and Shaw all picked up hat tricks, and Schwab netted a team high seven points. The Cavaliers’ offense enjoyed a good day at the draws — Virginia outdrew the Sharks by a 16-11 margin — and that allowed the team’s attackers to receive constant service. Galica noted that the draws were a big factor in the decisive offensive performance.
“I think draws are huge, especially in girls lacrosse because if you're winning the draw, you have possession,” Galica said. “So with more possessions, more girls are able to score. And I think that … we're all working so hard to get better at the draw.”
Additionally, the second quarter was certainly a special one for the Cavaliers, as they outscored LIU 10-1 during the period. Virginia showcased its high-octane offense and swarming high-pressure defense, also displaying resiliency in not letting a slow first quarter weigh them down. LaMonica remarked on the importance of the offensive explosion in the second frame.
“I think we stayed the course,” LaMonica said. “The second quarter was huge. That’s where we really started to play our game and opened the game up, so I was really pleased with that.”
Having entered Friday off the heels of a 19-4 defeat to then-No. 4 Syracuse in the ACC Tournament, the victory is a crucial confidence builder for the Cavaliers. Virginia has the skill on both sides of the ball to compete with anyone — as seen in its wins against then-No. 3 Boston College and then-No. 4 Notre Dame — but without the belief to do so, the road to an NCAA title is a tougher one. LaMonica emphasized the importance of confidence down the stretch.
“There was a lot of firepower here today, I think LIU threw different things at us defensively, and it was really great to see the group sort of problem solve, work through some different sets and find connections,” LaMonica said. “So that certainly boosts our confidence. And we'll need that going into Sunday because you know, we've got two great teams that are gonna compete here today. And you know, we're gonna have to be on our A-game.”
The Cavaliers will try to build off this momentum Sunday in a second-round matchup against Florida. The game will be played at Klöckner Stadium at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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