After last Monday’s heartbreaking loss to No. 13 High Point, the No. 12 Virginia men’s lacrosse team bounced back with an overtime win over No. 19 Princeton Saturday at Class of 52 Stadium.
Virginia (2-2, 0-0 ACC) scored the opening goal after 2:30 through Junior midfielder Dox Aitken. Aitken –– the fastest midfielder in program history to reach 100 career points –– scored on a bounce shot to give the Cavaliers the early lead.
While Virginia drew first blood, Princeton (1-1, 0-0 Ivy League) responded with three consecutive goals to give the Tigers the 3-1 lead going into the second quarter.
The Cavaliers regained the lead in the second period with three straight scores from sophomore attackmen Griffin Harris, Ian Laviano and Matt Moore. Harris kicked off the 3-0 run with his first goal of the season, while Laviano added a fast-break goal and Moore scored after a failed clear.
The two teams traded goals before Princeton senior attackman Emmet Cordrey scored his seventh goal of the season to tie the game at 5-5 as the first half came to an end.
Princeton came out firing in the second half, scoring two goals before Virginia could even take a single shot. The Cavaliers responded through junior attackman Michael Kraus who scored on a brilliant diving put-back to cut Princeton’s lead to 7-6.
The Cavaliers and the Tigers went back-and-forth before two quick goals by Virginia to start the fourth period gave the visiting team its first lead since the second quarter.
The Tigers responded with a pair of goals of their own to retake the lead, but Virginia senior midfielder Ryan Conrad scored with four minutes left to tie the game up. Neither team could find the nylon again in regulation, and Virginia headed to its first overtime of 2019.
It was all Virginia in the sudden-death overtime period as the Cavaliers won the face-off and took three shots, scoring on the third to win the game. Laviano notched the game winner on a Kraus helper to give Virginia its second win of the season.
Despite ultimately winning, Virginia took 12 less shots and 13 less shots on goal than Princeton.
For the Tigers, Senior midfielder Charlie Durbin and Junior attackman Michael Sowers led the way with four goals each.
The Cavaliers were led by Laviano’s four goals while Kraus, Moore and Aitken combined for six more. Freshman goalkeeper Patrick Burkinshaw also stepped up for Virginia in his first career start. Burkinshaw made 24 saves –– marking a new facility record –– including the save that forced overtime.
“What a performance by Patrick in his first career start,” Coach Lars Tiffany said. “I want to give Patrick tremendous credit in the power of believing. He believes in himself. He had the eye and said ‘I am ready coach.’”
Virginia returns to action Saturday as the Cavaliers visit No. 20 Syracuse for their ACC opener. Face-off is set for noon at the Carrier Dome.
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