Sophomore attackman Mike D’Amario chipped in the game-winning goal for the Virginia men’s’ lacrosse team as they outlasted No. 8 Johns Hopkins in an overtime showdown at Klöckner Stadium. Senior attackman James Pannell and senior midfielder Greg Coholan added three goals each to lift the Cavaliers to victory on Easter Sunday.
The first three quarters of the game were a pendulum of momentum for both teams, each going on long scoring runs. The Blue Jays came off the bus hot, scoring the game’s first four goals in the first quarter. The Cavaliers looked flat-footed and dazed, moving little off the ball and ball-watching on defense as Hopkins sent cutting midfielders to the crease. Cavalier coach Dom Starsia called a timeout after the fourth goal to regroup with his team.
“I thought we played about 50 minutes today,” Starsia said. “We were standing around on defense early on, and offensively we threw the ball away a few times.”
The Cavaliers hit their stride after the timeout, with Pannell burying the team’s first goal to close the half. The team broke out to a 5-0 run in the second quarter, capitalized by an underhand goal by sophomore face-off man Jason Murphy after winning the draw. Defensively, the Cavaliers tightened up, holding Hopkins scoreless for roughly 12 minutes into the quarter.
“We told the guys to pay more attention to the men they were guarding,” Starsia said. “After we tightened that up, they stopped banging the ball around and went more for individual play, and we found more success in defending that.”
The large run did not phase the Blue Jays, however, as momentum began to swing back to their end in the third quarter. Down 8-6 with a few minutes left in the quarter, Hopkins scored three goals in 32 seconds to take a one-score lead heading into the final quarter.
Much of the Blue Jays’ run can be attributed to their senior face-off man Craig Madarasz, who after struggling against Murphy for most of the day won a few key face-offs to lead the comeback effort, chipping in a goal of his own. Hopkins’ coach Dave Pietramala confused the Cavalier defense by placing two long-sticks on the goal, leading to a rare long-stick goal by freshman defenseman Patrick Foley that invigorated the Hopkins bench.
Unlike the first three quarters, the fourth quarter was a shootout, with each team trading goals throughout the quarter. Junior goalie Matt Barrett stepped up with a few key saves as the Virginia defense continued to play well. After a timeout by Starsia in the last minute, Coholan buried a goal from straight away to knot the game at 12 before time expired.
Overtime ended almost as quickly as it began. Virginia was given possession due to a Hopkins face-off violation, its third of the game, and D’Amario dove for the game-winning scored just 19 seconds into the period. The Virginia bench flooded the field in celebration after the final whistle.
“I saw a short stick on me and decided it was time to go,” D’Amario said. “I had never been at the bottom of a dogpile in college, so that was awesome. It was just really great to get the win at the end of the day.”
Virginia won the game through hard work and resilience, coming out as the more aggressive team. The Cavaliers picked up 46 ground balls compared to the Blue Jays’ 24, giving them many more opportunities on offense to score. Virginia also won the face-off battle, 18-10, with Hopkins’ three face-off violations proving to be costly.
The Cavaliers won the Doyle Smith Cup for their victory, the annual prize given to the winner of their classic matchup against Johns Hopkins. While Starsia was honored to receive the award, he was naturally more elated with such a crucial victory.
“Doyle was a special guy here — the Cup adds even more significance to a rivalry that doesn’t need a lot more significance,” Starsia said.
Though the Cavaliers secured the Cup last year from the Blue Jays, the teams met again in what was a rough loss for the Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Starsia, however, was more concerned about the present state of his team than avenging last year’s loss.
“I don’t think a lot about those things,” Starsia said. “We’re most concerned about this team, where we are at this moment. We’ve been working awfully hard, but we needed a result against a good team.”
With a couple of heartbreaking, one-score losses on their record, the Cavaliers were in need of a signature win. Starsia coached his team to a monumental victory that he hopes will set the tone for the rest of its season. Hopkins drops to 4-3 with the loss, while Virginia rises to 4-5.
The Cavaliers will look to get to .500 when they take on VMI at home Tuesday night.
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