Following a more than two week hiatus from play, Virginia women’s lacrosse was back in action Friday afternoon, as the Cavaliers (12-6, 5-4 ACC) began their quest for national glory at Klöckner Stadium with a dominant 20-6 victory over LIU. Virginia left no room for doubt in its NCAA Tournament opener, swiftly dispatching the Sharks (12-7, 8-1 NEC) with superior play on both ends of the field.
The Cavaliers’ 20-goal performance was a perfect storm of offensive play — quick passing, intelligent movement and all-out effort from the players. Those factors allowed for such dominance from Virginia’s front line. The energy from the Cavaliers on and off the field was palpable, something that Coach Sonia LaMonica emphasized postgame.
“It’s certainly a team effort,” LaMonica said. “I love the spirit of this group, the way they support each other. Whoever is out on the field, you can feel the energy behind us on the sideline. That just speaks to the culture of this team and these girls and how much they care about each other. They’re really bought in. I’m just excited that we’ve earned a great win today.”
Virginia’s sophomore attacker Madison Alaimo was particularly sharp in the Cavaliers’ win. Her tally of nine assists broke the Virginia single-game record and tied the NCAA Tournament single-game record. Alaimo’s passes seemed to find her teammates in all the right places, and at all the right times.
“I mean, this is what [Alaimo] does,” LaMonica said. “She’s a dangerous player. She always has her head up. She’s become more of a scoring threat. And, yeah, it was just really fun to see her doing what she does. She has a great IQ, and she loves to play the game.”
In addition to Alaimo’s two goals and nine assists, sophomore midfielder Kate Galica and sophomore attackers Jenna DiNardo and Addi Foster all recorded hat tricks. The Cavaliers’ scoring was well spread throughout the team, with nine different Virginia players etching their names onto the scoresheet.
As soon as the whistle rang for first draw, the Cavaliers were in control. Virginia jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but LIU would get one of their own on the board soon after. The Cavaliers responded just as quickly to increase the lead to three. After the initial scoring spree seemed to cool down, and the quarter winded down, Virginia struck once more — a perfect pass from Alaimo found the cutting freshman attacker Gabby LaVerghetta. DiNardo would strike less than a minute later, giving the Cavaliers a 6-1 advantage after the first period of play.
The rest of the contest was more of the same. Scoring sprees by Virginia interrupted intermittently by flashes of potency by the Sharks, but it was never enough to truly bother the Cavaliers.
On the defensive side, although it was overshadowed — Virginia won 23 out of 28 possible draw controls and therefore had the lion's share of possession — the Cavaliers’ unit performed well. Virginia racked up 13 ground balls and did well to maintain their shape and composure. Additionally, the Cavaliers did well to stay out of the penalty box, while still remaining physical during the ride.
Virginia’s recipe for success all season — dominance at the draw and vigorous offensive movement — were on full display. If the Cavaliers want to make a splash in this year's tournament, they’ll need to continue doing what they do best at a high level.
Virginia will hope to keep up its impressive team effort when Duke visits Klöckner Stadium Sunday for the second round of the tournament. The Cavaliers were able to secure a gritty comeback victory earlier in the season against the Blue Devils, but will need to be at their best to defeat them twice in one campaign. First draw is set for 1 p.m.
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