The No. 10 Virginia men’s lacrosse team came just short of completing an impressive comeback against High Point in what was a damp and breezy Tuesday night contest.
The Cavaliers (1-2) were trailing the Panthers (1-3) late in the third quarter before going on a 4-0 run to come within one point, and eventually push the game to overtime in the final seconds of regulation. Virginia struggled at Klöckner Stadium once again as High Point edged out the Cavaliers by a score of 12-11.
“Obviously it just took us too long to get started — that’s the obvious answer,” said coach Dom Starsia. “There were too many mistakes along the way, and at the same time, against a team that was playing well and moving the ball smartly.”
The first half was once again a story of Virginia outshooting its opponents, but still coming out on the short end, as the Cavaliers outshot High Point 18-13, but trailed 7-5. The first quarter of the game was back and forth throughout, as Virginia started off on the right foot with an early goal from freshman attackman Ryan Conrad to begin the first period with the 1-0 lead.
However, a defensive breakdown led to a tie game, as High Point got on the scoreboard just one minute later. The Panthers took the lead at 7:32, just to be answered by an extra man advantage goal from Virginia senior attackman James Pannell, his first of the season.
High Point would go on to a 3-0 run before a goal by sophomore midfielder Mike D’Amario, who was assisted by Conrad. Freshman midfielder Ryan Lamb pulled off a buzzer beater before the conclusion of the period to make the score 5-4.
The Panthers seemed to pick up more momentum coming into the second period — bombarding the Cavalier defense and scoring two unanswered goals to start off the quarter. D’Amario struck again to stop the High Point run at 5:42 and pull Virginia in within two points. The score remained at 7-5 going into the intermission.
The Panthers came back at halftime with a vengeance and were the first to strike in the second half, less than two minutes into the third period. Redshirt freshman Keegan O’Connor added insult to injury at 11:35 with another goal for High Point. The Panthers added another unanswered score less than a minute later with a goal from senior attackman Dan Lomas, his third of the night.
The Cavaliers finally stopped the High Point run at 5:10 with a goal from junior Zed Williams, his third of the season. With a 10-6 High Point lead, Virginia had a 30 second extra-man advantage, which paid off with another goal from Williams.
The junior midfielder was on a roll, as the Cavaliers kept the momentum going and pulled within two points with yet another goal from Williams. Pannell joined in the scoring run at 9:04 for his second goal of the night to bring the score to 10-9.
High Point added another goal to push the lead to 11-9, but Williams answered the Panthers with his fourth goal of the evening to pull Virginia back within one with just 45.3 seconds left in the game.
Although Williams had much to be proud of with Tuesday’s performance, he was disappointed in the outcome of the game overall.
“Its definitely just a disappointing feeling for me and all of the team,” Williams said. “We just have to come back to practice this week and work to get better.”
Starsia substituted junior Matt Barrett and put sophomore Will Railey in the goal to finish out the remaining seconds of the game.
High Point was charged with an illegal procedure to give Virginia a 30 second extra man advantage, and Zed Williams scored his fifth goal of the night to give the Cavaliers the tying goal with just 25.2 seconds left in the game.
Virginia had a few seconds to win the game, but could not have prevailed in the chaos surrounding the goal. The contest entered sudden victory overtime, and the Panthers were victorious in the face off.
After calling a quick time out with possession, High Point got the ball to Lomas and swiftly scored his fourth goal of the night. The final goal was a dagger to the Cavaliers, as the High Point players and coaches, in just their fifth season as a lacrosse team, rushed onto the field to celebrate.
The loss marked the first mid-week contest Virginia has lost in 15 years, as the Panthers snapped a 36 game mid-week winning streak for the Cavaliers.
“I think we can stand a couple days of practice and develop a little continuity, Starsia said. “I like this team. I like the direction that we’re headed. We just have to get back to the practice field, get to work, turn around and get ready to play Penn on Sunday.”
Virginia will have a few days of practice to regroup before they attempt to get their first win at home, when Penn visits Charlottesville Sunday at 1 p.m.
Read More
Virginia baseball drops two of three in home series with Georgia Tech
By Ryan Weiner | YesterdayThe Cavaliers dropped a crucial series, and will need to rebound quickly heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
Virginia track and field delivers strong performances at Virginia Challenge
By Tanmayi Patil | YesterdayThe Cavaliers displayed impressive performances across the board over the weekend.
No. 4 men’s lacrosse falls in “heroic” game against No. 7 Syracuse after fourth-quarter charge
By Cole Huff | YesterdayWhile Virginia failed to win, the game provided an excellent feel for what the NCAA Tournament will be like, preparing the team for May.
