As the clock drained in the final seconds of Virginia’s victory against Duke, senior midfielder Joey Terenzi chucked the ball into the sky, watching its arc as the Cavaliers shattered a ceiling of 22 years winless against the Blue Devils in the regular season.
Between those roughly 8022 days, a loss to Duke (8-2, 0-2 ACC) had been a blot on the stat lines of national championship seasons in 2019 and 2021 and a spectre hanging over their conference matchup for the last two decades. But ahead of this season, the Cavaliers (7-4, 2-0 ACC) paid this complicated history no mind, which Coach Lars Tiffany credited to senior captains John Schroter, Truitt Sunderland and Joey Terenzi.
“We didn't want to talk about it,” Tiffany said. “It's in the back of everyone's minds, but they've just dialed in and trusted the game plan.”
Perseverance in goal from graduate goalkeeper Jake Marek, who posted 13 saves — his fourth game in the double digits — anchored the defense and wore down a powerful set of Duke attackers. Shots by junior midfielder Benn Johnston and freshman attackers Michael Ortlieb and Brady Scioletti ripped wide as they yielded less and less, their composure undone.
“For Jake Marek to hold up the Virginia lacrosse program the way he did today is something that none of us anticipated,” Tiffany said. “For us today to not play great defense at points and for him to bail us out, it's really heroic what Jake Marek is doing.”
Escaping the painted lines encircling the cage, Marek dove for the ball even as it rolled out of bounds, falling over himself to continue Virginia’s possession in a turnover-heavy bout — 21 to Duke’s 17 — mostly fought in the midfield. As the Cavaliers went 20-28 in clears, tripped up as they passed their restraining line compared to a methodical Duke with 19-21, Marek’s control in goal covered for missteps on the Cavalier defense.
“I'm not the biggest kid at all, but I know I'm faster than those goalies, and some teams just don't expect it,” Marek said. “It's worked so far, and it's fun to do. I like being an athletic goalie.”
Outside of the goal, circle defender John Schroter continued to hound the Blue Devil offense, doing two stints in the penalty box for holding and a cross-check in the second quarter — a long stick suddenly a clothesline against the throat of junior midfielder Tomas Delgado. On both ends of the field, each team’s defensive unit became more barbed as they sought to wear the other down, swatting for caused turnovers as Virginia and Duke would call it even, each landing 12.
Senior midfielder Joey Terenzi’s return to starting in the midfield — no longer a staple on the faceoff wing — made the neon orange head of his stick a fixture in the eyes of fans at Koskinen Stadium as Terenzi secured a career-high five points and first career hat trick.
The final goal, launched into an open net abandoned by junior goalkeeper Patrick Jameison, capped off a milestone outing — some of which was played with a broken stick, the culprit for three turnovers in the first quarter.
“For the person who doesn't know he broke a stick you're like, wait a minute, how can you throw two … bad passes?” Tiffany said. “Joey's the heart and soul of our team. He's the greatest communicator … He's such an emotional lift.”
Senior attackers Truitt Sunderland and Ryan Colsey found the net on four and three occasions respectively, with Sunderland straining to curl from behind the cage to strike at narrow angles. Colsey remained consistent in his 25th game with a goal as his brother, sophomore attacker Kyle Colsey, fought back on the other side of the field with a game-high three goals for the Blue Devils.
Virginia was uncharacteristically weaker in the faceoff, as a strong 4-2 advantage over Duke in the first quarter waned into the Blue Devils securing more possessions, taking 15 out of 27. Junior faceoff specialist Andrew Greenspan had a losing record for the first time since an early March game against High Point, winning eight out of 17 in Durham.
“One of Duke's greatest weapons is when they win a faceoff, they now trap your faceoff man,” Tiffany said. “If your faceoff man tries to escape, they've got [six versus five] temporarily.”
But for all of the Blue Devils’ swarm of checks and rapid-firing shots, the little rectangle of Virginia fans — an orange blemish on the stands of Koskinen Stadium — stood tall after the conference win for the first time since 2004. Even if that fact had no relevance in the minds of the Cavaliers, their supporters relished in the win.
“Odds [were] it's got to break at some point,” Tiffany said. “We're fortunate today to get ours and see what happens the next time we see Duke.”
Virginia returns for another ACC matchup against No. 2 Syracuse in New York, another test as they enter the back half of their four-game conference slate. The game can be streamed on ESPNU.
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