The No. 10 Virginia women’s lacrosse team suffered its sixth loss of the spring Sunday — its most during a season since 1995 — falling to No. 1 Northwestern 11-10. The senior day matchup between the Cavaliers (10-6, 2-3 ACC) and Wildcats (14-0, 2-0 ALC) was the first regular season meeting between the two schools since 1991.
“It is a heartbreaker,” Virginia coach Julie Myers said. ”I think our girls really battled hard and created a lot of opportunities to try to win a huge game at home. I feel like we had a chance — it was one of those games that we could have won.”
The Wildcats were quick out of the blocks against the Cavaliers. The top-ranked team in the country began by winning the opening draw, and junior midfielder Danielle Spencer scored the first goal of the game one minute into play. Northwestern followed with another goal two and a half minutes later off a free position shot.
But just when it seemed like the Wildcats were well on their way to blowing out the Cavaliers, Virginia junior midfielder Kaitlin Duff split the Northwestern defense to score.
Throughout the game, the Wildcats played an aggressive press on defense, allowing the Virginia attack to find holes in the line and create scoring opportunities. Beginning at the 17:30 mark, the Cavaliers went on a scoring run, netting four unanswered goals to take a 6-3 lead. Junior midfielder Whittaker Hagerman and senior midfielder Blair Weymouth each notched two goals during the stretch.
Controlling the time of possession in the first half, Virginia effectively worked the ball around the net, creating multiple scoring opportunities.
Northwestern, though, found an answer for the Cavalier offense, responding with three quick goals of its own before halftime. Northwestern’s run was capped by senior midfielder Hannah Nielsen’s goal with just four and a half seconds left to give the visitors a 7-6 lead heading into the locker room.
After halftime, the game’s pace slowed considerably, as the Wildcats and Cavaliers exchanged just two goals apiece during the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Northwestern was able to take a two-goal edge, but Duff managed to erase the deficit with two nettings of her own — the last of which came with eight and a half minutes remaining. The Wildcats then went into a stall offense with just more than three minutes left and the score tied at 10-10.
Nielsen helped Northwestern snatch the lead from the Cavaliers with a minute and a half left in the game. Nielsen, last year’s Player of the Year, made a cut from behind the goal and snuck the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Benner. With the clock winding down, Virginia’s hopes of pulling an upset were growing slimmer.
Virginia senior Jenny Hauser, though, then intercepted the ball after the Cavaliers lost the ensuing draw control, creating one last chance for the Cavaliers. A foul on Duff gave her an opportunity to score with eight and a half seconds left in the game — but she false-started, turning the ball over and sealing the game for Northwestern.
The loss marked the Cavaliers’ third one-goal defeat of the season.
“In the first half, I think we were able to generate some of their turnover and mistakes into our goals,” Myers said. “In the second half, we were the ones who made the mental mistakes in the end.”
Weymouth ended her career at Klöckner Stadium by scoring a team-high four goals, and Duff added three. The Cavalier defense played a significant role in keeping Virginia in the game, holding the Wildcats’ three highest scorers — Nielsen, Spencer and senior midfielder Hilary Bowen — to just four goals, well below their average combined total of 10 per game. Although the Cavaliers held Northwestern to its lowest offensive output of the season, Virginia’s goalkeepers only managed one save.
“I think it is probably the best our team has played on the field in terms of generating opportunities,” Myers said. “We were focused, intense and excited. I think some of that intensity and emotion has been missing for parts of the season, so it was great to see that.”
The game against top-ranked Northwestern should give the Cavaliers confidence as they head to Blacksburg, Va. for the ACC Tournament Thursday. The one-goal margin of victory was the smallest of the season for the Wildcats.
“I thought we were the better team,” Weymouth said. “We just didn’t come up with it in the last minute and a half.”
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