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Lacrosse’s season slips away against No. 2 Brown

<p>Virginia's 2016 campaign ended Saturday after Brown outscored the Cavaliers 10-3 in the second half. Senior attackman James Pannell led Virginia in scoring this season.</p>

Virginia's 2016 campaign ended Saturday after Brown outscored the Cavaliers 10-3 in the second half. Senior attackman James Pannell led Virginia in scoring this season.

The Virginia men’s lacrosse team stayed close with No. 2 Brown throughout the first half and the weather delay Sunday, but it wasn’t enough. After a second delay in the third quarter of the contest, the Cavaliers (7-8, 0-4 ACC) were outlasted by the Bears (14-1, 6-0 Ivy League) and saw their season slip away, 19-11.

After Brown took a quick lead, senior attackman James Pannell scored off an assist from junior midfielder Zed Williams. Brown scored another goal, and Williams tacked on one of his own to bring the score to 3-2. Lightning caused the first delay, which lasted an hour and 24 minutes, and when Virginia took the field again, junior attackman Ryan Lukacovic scored with just 28 seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game at 3-3.

The Bears stormed in from the first quarter and onto the second quarter, going on a 3-0 run to take a 6-3 lead before Pannell scored his second goal of the evening. After another Brown goal, the Cavaliers finished the half on a 4-2 run with a pair of goals from Pannell and two more by senior midfielder Greg Coholan and junior long stick midfielder Michael Howard.

The Bears held a 9-8 lead going into the intermission, and it looked as if the momentum had finally swung in Virginia’s direction. However, after two Brown goals in the first 16 seconds of the second half, another storm delay forced the teams off the field. After the delay, all hope for the Cavaliers slipped away, as the Bears went on a 5-0 run to cap off the third quarter, leading 16-8.

Brown scored three goals in the fourth quarter, and the Cavaliers tried to answer with another goal from Williams and two more from junior midfielder AJ Fish and freshman midfielder Ryan Conrad. However, it wasn’t enough. The Bears won in shots, ground balls and face-offs. Junior goalie Matt Barrett recorded 10 saves against Brown’s 13.

Virginia saw its season end without an ACC or NCAA Tournament appearance. Pannell, the team’s leading scorer, and Coholan, who was third in points this season, saw their last appearance as Cavaliers. Howard, who led the team with 57 ground balls, will join both Coholan and Pannell in Major League Lacrosse after being selected as a redshirt junior.

Virginia will need to pick up the pieces in the offseason with the loss of three key players. However, Lukacovic, who was second to Pannell in overall points this season, and Williams, who was second in ground balls will be returning for the Cavaliers. Virginia will also look forward to the development of underclassmen, like Conrad and sophomore attackman Mike D’Amario, who showed promise this season. Regardless, Virginia coach Dom Starsia will need to find out what works for a team that had an up-and-down 2016 season.

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