Men’s Lacrosse: No. 3 Virginia cruises past Lafayette, 20-11, as LaSalla sets NCAA record

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

With his 11th faceoff attempt of the day, No. 3 Virginia’s faceoff specialist Petey LaSalla set the NCAA Division-I record for faceoffs taken in the Cavaliers’ 20-11 win over Lafayette at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa., Tuesday night. After finishing 12 for 22 at the faceoff X in Tuesday’s contest, LaSalla has now taken 1,659 career draws, shattering TD Ierlan’s previous record of 1,657, which he set in 2021.

Eleven different Cavaliers found the back of the net in the win, including Xander Dickson, who scored a game-high four goals and dished out four assists. With 52 goals on the season, Dickson became UVA’s sixth-ever 50-goal scorer and is currently tied for No. 3 on UVA’s single season list. Dickson needs just five more goals to break Doug Knight’s 1996 single season record of 56 goals.

With three goals and two assists, Connor Shellenberger notched his 16th career hat trick. Short-stick defensive midfielder Noah Chizmar tallied five ground balls and recorded his second assist of the season.

In net, Matthew Nunes (10-3) earned the win and made 13 saves, including seven in the first period. Nunes logged 49:41 of action before David Roselle relieved him for the final 10:19 of game time. Lafayette’s Joe Doherty dropped to 6-9 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Although Virginia (10-3) led 3-1 at the end of the first, five turnovers disrupted the Cavaliers’ offensive rhythm. Nunes nearly shutout the Leopards in the first, but their 13th shot of the night found the back of the net with one second remaining in the period. Nunes finished the first with seven saves. Dickson reached the 50-goal milestone with his second score of the day in quarter No. 1.  

The Cavaliers extended their lead in the second to 8-1 after tallying five straight goals. Dickson, Schutz and McConvey all scored in the second, including Dickson on a UVA extra-man opportunity. Virginia killed its second penalty of the half after the Cavaliers were whistled for a personal foul in the midfield. Dickson led all scorers at the break with four goals.

The opening faceoff of the second half saw LaSalla set the all-time faceoffs taken record. A flurry of UVA transition goals ultimately led to 11 scores by the Hoos in the third stanza. A monster outside shot on the run by Ricky Miezan delivered the Cavaliers’ largest lead of the game, 19-6, with 1:23 left in period No. 3.

After Virginia was whistled for 2:00 non-releasable penalty in the waning seconds of the third, the Leopards fired off three extra-man goals within the first 2:30 of play to start the fourth. Will Cory scored his third goal of the season on an assist from Truitt Sunderland before Lafayette (6-9) claimed the game’s final strike with 2:31 to play.

FROM HEAD COACH LARS TIFFANY

“Grateful for Matt Nunes and the way he played in the first quarter and the first half, especially when Lafayette’s offense was moving well and finding a lot of openings. Matt closed the door. Disappointed with the energy we played with in the first half but certainly, our men responded to the challenge that was thrown at them during the halftime talk. We played with much more respect for the game of lacrosse. I was really happy to see the way we were moving the ball and the way we were able to continue to move the ball to find one-mores and get our transition game flowing.”

Tiffany on Petey LaSalla setting the NCAA Division-I record for faceoffs taken…
“To earn the most faceoff [attempts] in Division-I history is mostly a testament to Petey LaSalla’s training, his resilience, and his ability to block out pain and play through injury. And it’s also a tribute to the offensive firepower that Sean Kirwan gives us so that there are a lot more faceoffs in the games that we play. But what an achievement by Petey. I cringe to think about life without him next year.”

WITH THE WIN… 

• Virginia extended its lead in the series over the Leopards to 2-0. The two teams’ inaugural matchup was at Klöckner Stadium in 2022, when the Cavaliers won, 20-10.
• UVA improved to 5-1 in games away from Klöckner Stadium and 4-0 in night games this season.
• Lars Tiffany tallied his 190th career win as head coach.

ADDITIONAL NOTES 

• Petey LaSalla set the NCAA Division-I record for faceoffs taken. In 73 career games, LaSalla has now recorded 1,659 career faceoff attempts. LaSalla shattered TD Ierlan’s previous Division-I record of 1,657 attempts.
• With four goals, Xander Dickson (52g) became UVA’s sixth-ever 50-goal scorer in a single season. His 52 goals on the season are tied for No. 3 on UVA’s single season goals list. Dickson needs just five more goals to shatter Doug Knight’s 1996 program record of 56 goals.
• With one goal and one assist, Thomas McConvey extended his point streak to 66 games. Having registered at least one point in all 66 career games, McConvey’s streak is the longest among all active Division-I players. For his career, McConvey has amassed 150 goals and 67 assists.
• With one goal, Payton Cormier extended his point streak to 41 games. During his streak, Cormier has registered 124 goals and 24 assists.
• Cormier is also riding a 17-game goal streak, which began April 16, 2022, in which he has totaled 59 goals.
• Eleven different Cavaliers scored in the win.
• Virginia scored 11 goals in the third period.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers round out regular-season action on Sunday when UVA hosts No. 1 Notre Dame for Senior Day. Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network. Prior to the start of Sunday’s game, Virginia will honor: Connor Shellenberger, Danny Parker, Will Cory, Drew Brennfleck, Quentin Matsui, Scott Bower, John Izlar, Peter Garno, Michael Bienkowski, Mitchell Whalen, Jake Giulieri, David Roselle and Thomas McConvey.