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Cavaliers overwhelm JHU for 400th program win

After a recent failed attempt to attain their program's 400th win against Georgetown, the No. 4 Cavaliers'? new game plan paid off, allowing Virginia to knock off No. 16 Johns Hopkins at Klöckner Stadium Sunday and to reach the milestone.

The 17-6 victory also marked Virginia coach Julie Myers' 100th win as a Cavalier coach and elevated Virginia to 11-3 (4-1 ACC).

Having played three straight slow-paced matches dictated by the opposing defenses, Virginia came into this game looking to get and capitalize on fast-break opportunities. This plan, instituted by Myers, worked like a charm.

With nearly seven minutes elapsed in the first half?, the Cavalier offense netted four goals in a 63-second span, all on quick-scoring chances, to take a six-goal lead. All four goals were scored by different players, as the Cavaliers found open teammates and made the most of their chances.

"I think our team did a great job in transition in particular," Myers said. "I think the way that Hopkins traps, if you're able to get through those first two levels of the trap, you have some wide-open opportunities on the fast-break. Our girls did a great job of really nailing those opportunities."

Junior midfielder Ashley McCulloch, who leads the Virginia offense in both points and assists on the season, contributed an assist? and five goals of her own. McCulloch was quick to divert the attention from herself toward the game plan and her teammates.

"I think today one of the things we wanted to focus on was our fast breaks and not settling it in attack," McCulloch said of the squad's mentality for the game. "I think on fast breaks we were open and really took it to them."

McCulloch was just one of many players to find the scoring column for the Cavaliers on the day. The Cavaliers got off to a 9-0 start before Hopkins (6-7, 0-1 American Lacrosse Conference) netted its first goal with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Blue Jays were able to score twice more before the half finished?, and Virginia led 10-3 at halftime. That small flurry of goals wasn't enough to gain momentum though, as the Cavaliers scored 7 more in the second half, to Hopkins' 3.

After a tough loss to Georgetown last week, Virginia needed to come out fast and gain the upper hand. The team did that not only with its fast-scoring offense, but a strong defense.

"It's huge -- the fact that we came out really strong and scored 9 goals unanswered," senior goalkeeper Kendall McBrearty said of her defense and the win. "It was just huge to come out off our last game where we were flat and play strong and stick it to them. The fact that our defense could hold them off every time that they came down and every time they tried to score and keep the momentum going was huge."

McBrearty was clearly excited about her team's performance, which she exhibited in goal and during the final three minutes of the game while she stood watching from the sidelines. Junior goalkeeper Sara Hairfield came in and made two tough saves in those final three minutes.

"When I was a first-year I was on the sideline, and being a goalie, I know I just scream about everything," McBrearty said of her enthusiasm. "When I come out, I try to sustain that and just encourage everybody because they're getting their time to shine, and you want to be positive."

McBrearty added that she loves to watch Hairfield play.

"She's great," McBrearty said. "She's such a hard worker and to go in and make those two saves, it was huge."

The Virginia squad also celebrated this win because it achieved a program milestone: The win marked the 400th in the history of Virginia women's lacrosse as well as Myers' 100th win as a coach in Charlottesville.

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