Missing star senior midfielder Shamel Bratton, the No. 6 Virginia lacrosse team dropped its conference opener 12-7 against No. 10 Maryland. Prior to the game, coach Dom Starsia suspended Bratton indefinitely for breaking unspecified team rules.
"The team has a set of guidelines and rules," Starsia said. "I do treat everybody individually, but the rules have to be applied equally."
The All-American midfielder ranks third on the team with 17 goals and 24 points, but his return to the squad is uncertain. The suspension marked Bratton's second of the season, as he and his twin brother, senior midfielder Rhamel Bratton, missed a Feb. 26 game against Stony Brook.
Bratton's absence left the Cavaliers short-handed, a tough blow for a team that lost to Johns Hopkins last week and fell out the top five for the first time since 2007. Virginia (7-3, 0-1 ACC), however, hoped to rebound in the first lacrosse game at Scott Stadium since 1995. The team seemed poised to do so, as junior attackman Steele Stanwick put the Cavaliers on the board first with his 21st goal of the year. Minutes later, a scintillating save by senior goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman set the tone for an up-and-down tempo that endured throughout the game. After the save, one of six by Ghitelman in the quarter, Virginia counterattacked quickly and made a run at the Terrapins' net as the defense was caught out of position. Maryland's freshman goalie Niko Amato, however, thwarted the Cavaliers' attempt to go up 2-0.
The teams traded goals for most of the first half, with Virginia twice taking a two-goal lead. Ghitelman's strong play in goal kept the Cavaliers in the game while they tried to find their groove without Shamel Bratton. During the second quarter, the Cavalier offense began to assert itself, and Rhamel Bratton contributed a pair of goals to give Virginia a 5-4 halftime advantage. His first goal came on an impressive individual effort when he backed away from his defender before sprinting around to the left side to get separation and then fired a shot past Amato for a 4-2 lead. The second came on a quick shot after receiving a pinpoint cross-field pass from senior midfielder John Haldy.
After the break, Maryland looked like a different team in every area. The Terrapin attack heated up, and it broke down Virginia's defense with fast transitions. Junior attackman Joe Cummings netted three of his four goals in the third quarter, helping Maryland turn a 5-4 deficit into an 8-5 lead by the end of the period. Amato shut down an uncharacteristically trepid Cavalier attack.
Amato "is a good goalie, I actually played against him in high school, but I probably should have been a little bit more sure of [my] shot," Haldy said of one of Amato's best saves in the third quarter.\nMaryland dominated the fourth quarter, sealing its victory with a relentless attack. In contrast, when Virginia junior attackman Chris Bocklet scored with 10:09 remaining, it was Cavaliers' first goal in more than 25 minutes. On the Terrapins' ensuing possession, they slowed the pace to let the clock tick down. Even as it looked to stall, Maryland found a hole in the Cavaliers' defense and sophomore midfielder John Haus iced the win, finishing a play that was set up by senior attackman Ryan Young. The goal gave Haus a tie for the team lead with four tallies and Young earned a game-high fourth assist on the play.
"In order for us to get to that next level we just need to get better on the little things," junior midfielder Colin Briggs said.
The two teams played through a sudden hail storm as Maryland closed its 12-7 win. The Cavaliers now will prepare for another big ACC matchup against No. 4 North Carolina at Kl
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