The rivalry between No. 12 Virginia and No. 6 Maryland has been forged by decades of lacrosse battles and a mutual, begrudging respect. But on Saturday afternoon at SECU Stadium in College Park, Md., that history felt like a heavy weight for the No. 12 Cavaliers (0-4, 0–0, ACC). Despite moments of offensive excellence and a gritty first-half stand, Virginia could not contain a relentless Terrapins (3–0, 0–0, Big 10) attack and ultimately fell 17–9.
For this Cavalier squad, the early season has been a tough ride — after narrowly losing to both Navy and Richmond at home, the trip to College Park represented a chance to flip the script against a top 10 opponent. However, Virginia was chasing after Maryland from the get-go.
After getting control of the first draw, the Terrapins put a score up on the board in less than 50 seconds — but the Cavaliers kept them at bay for much of the first quarter. There was no more scoring action until there was just over six minutes left in the period, at which point junior attacker Addi Foster landed a goal for Virginia, tying the game 1–1.
However, the intense back-and-forth battle between the teams was not consistent — in just over two minutes, Maryland tallied three more goals to end the period up 4–1.
The Cavaliers pushed on to score five goals in the second quarter — four of which were made by junior attacker Madison Alaimo and junior attacker Jenna DiNardo. The energy was palpable, and it looked as though Virginia might push through and gain a lead.
With 30 seconds left in the second quarter, Alaimo completed her hat trick to bring the Cavaliers within two at 8–6. In many games, that could be a momentum builder as the team headed into the second half.
Maryland won the ensuing draw, and at the 11-second mark, the Terrapins’ graduate attacker Keeley Block found the back of the net. Before Virginia could gather its footing and reset its defense, Maryland won another draw. With only three seconds showing on the clock as the ball crossed the line, senior midfielder Kori Edmonson scored again for the Terrapins. In 11 seconds, a tight 8–6 game was transformed into a daunting 10–6 Maryland lead.
The third quarter was characterized by many Virginia turnovers and Terrapin draw controls, leaving the Cavaliers flailing. Maryland opened the second half on a 5–1 run. Virginia's defense, led by graduate goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle, was under constant siege.
Finnelle made two point-blank saves in the first five minutes of the third quarter, but the volume of Maryland shots — fueled by an 18–8 advantage in draw controls — eventually broke the dam.
By the time Foster scored the Cavaliers’ only goal of the third quarter with 6:28 remaining, the Terrapins had already built a 13–7 lead. The clinical nature of Maryland's offense was on full display — with their 17 goals and 13 assists, six of which came from the stick of graduate attacker Kristen Shanahan.
The fourth quarter saw a late surge from Virginia, with DiNardo completing her hat trick and the team coming up even with the Terrapins for goals in the final period, 2–2. However, the mountain was too high to climb at that point — Maryland's ability to kill the clock through long possessions effectively killed any hope of a miracle comeback.
Despite the 0-3 start, this matchup proved that Virginia is still dangerous when it has the ball — the issue is maintaining possession over longer stretches.
The Cavaliers will head to Lynchburg for a mid-week clash with Liberty, offering Virginia a crucial opportunity to find its footing and secure that elusive first win of the season before its ACC opener at Notre Dame. The lessons from Saturday's game are clear — Virginia must find a way to stabilize its play in the middle of the game and improve its performance at the draw circle.
Read More
Defensive struggles continue for No. 13 men’s lacrosse in 18-12 loss to No. 8 Richmond
By Sam Chun | 1 hours ago“The season is a race — a race to improve,” Coach Lars Tiffany said. “It's obvious after today that we have a whole lot of racing to do, because there’s a great deal of improving that has to occur.”
Virginia picks up its 10th conference win out west in free throw thriller
By Cierra Lyles | 1 hours agoKymora Johnson finished the game with 25 points — a far from unusual performance for her — and secured the Cavaliers’ win with eight consecutive free throw conversions and went a perfect 12-12 from the line.
Virginia left the Longwood Invitational with hearts full after two Valentine’s Day wins
By Cierra Lyles | 9 hours agoWhat was supposed to be a weekend full of softball quickly turned into just two games thanks to mother nature. Still, the Cavaliers (7-1, 0-0 ACC) were able to advance their winning streak seven, defeating both Longwood (1-7, 0-0 BSC) and Toledo (1-7, 0-0 MAC).
