No. 11 Virginia women’s lacrosse traveled to Syracuse, N.Y. Saturday to take on No. 7 Syracuse in a highly anticipated ACC matchup, with both teams looking to earn an edge in their conference standing. The Cavaliers (7-4, 3-3 ACC) ultimately fell to the Orange (8-4, 4-2 ACC) by a 12-13 margin, despite a run by Virginia that evened the contest late. The loss represents the Cavaliers’ third ACC loss of the season, making their path to conference glory a tougher one.
Sophomore midfielder Kate Galica and sophomore attacker Jenna DiNardo led the way, each scoring a hat-trick. But the rest of Virginia’s offense struggled, tallying that same total — six goals — among five other goalscorers.
Although Galica initially struggled on the draw circle, she was the first to put the Cavaliers on the board and contributed another goal to further Virginia’s lead to 5-2 in the first quarter.
However, Syracuse quickly adjusted to Virginia’s defense, and ball movement gave the Orange a 7-1 run to close out the first half. Syracuse also continued to hold the edge over the Cavaliers in draw controls, a position the Cavaliers have not been used to this season, given Galica’s typical dominance. Galica only collected two draw controls for the entirety of the first half.
One positive from the first half was junior goalkeeper Mel Josephson, who put on a particularly strong performance in goal, helping Virginia keep the Orange within reach despite its explosive second quarter. Josephson tallied seven saves in the first half with a .438 save percentage — an important comeback from her performance against Pittsburgh last weekend, where she was pulled after making no saves in the first half. Yet even Josephson’s heroics weren’t enough to stop Syracuse’s momentum, which closed the first half up 9-6.
The Orange continued to control the overall pace of the game throughout the third quarter. It was not until the final quarter that Virginia found success moving the ball and finding open looks on offense. A four-goal run that included DiNardo’s third of the game brought the score within one midway through the final quarter.
Virginia was hot all over, including on the draw circle. It continued to push its pace offensively, with junior midfielder Abby Manalang’s two fourth-quarter goals coming within just 36 seconds of each other. Freshman attacker Fiona Allen converted on a free position shot soon after to tie the game.
But Syracuse broke its silence after 12 minutes when Allen converted on a free-position shot to grab a one-goal lead over the Cavaliers. Time was not in Virginia’s favor as a battle of possession ensued, running the clock out and handing the Cavaliers their fourth loss of the season.
Saturday’s matchup was a crucial in-conference game, as the Orange sat one place below Virginia prior to the contest. It is likely that the Cavaliers will drop in the rankings, and their chances of having to play No. 1 Boston College or No. 2 North Carolina early on in the ACC Tournament are increasing. Virginia was tested all game and showed ferocity battling back from a four-goal deficit, but the loss still hurts. The Cavaliers’ upcoming ACC matchups now hold more weight as the postseason approaches.
Next up, Virginia will catch a slight break in its non-ACC matchup when it travels to Richmond Wednesday to take on VCU — a team that the Cavaliers hold a 4-0 all-time record against. The contest is set to begin at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
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