Men’s Lacrosse: No. 14 Virginia bounces back with 17-8 win against High Point

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Posted on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, 11:21 pm

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By Colin Moore
JerryRatcliffe.com correspondent

Photo by Nikolozi Khutsishvili

On a chilly evening at Klöckner Stadium, No. 12 Virginia bounced back with a 17-8 victory over High Point Tuesday after coming up short against Richmond over the weekend. High Point competed tough, as they did all they could to limit the dangerous Wahoo attack, but it ultimately wasn’t enough.

Ryan Colsey had himself a career night — and one of his best performances in a UVA uniform — registering 6 goals with 3 assists. He managed to score a hat trick in both halves of Tuesday’s contest.

“Jeez, he was firing the ball, like he was reaching back and bringing some heat, which every team needs,” UVA head coach Lars Tiffany said of Colsey’s big day.

The Cavaliers (2-1) were not shy on sharing the ball and creating for one another, as nine different Cavaliers scored. Truitt Sunderland tallied 3 goals and 2 assists, while McCabe Millon also tallied a goal and dished out 3 assists.

UVA’s Kyle Morris recorded another start between the pipes, making 5 saves and allowing 4 goals in 30 minutes of play. Mathew Nunes came out at the start of the second half and registered just 2 saves, allowing 4 goals in just over 28 minutes of play. Sophomore Colin Hook made his third college appearance, finishing out the game for the Cavaliers. High Point goalie Jack Overend battled the entire 60 minutes in net, making 13 saves.

The Cavaliers won the ground-ball battle, winning 40 opposed to High Point’s 27. Virginia long-stick midfielder Ben Wayer recorded a game high with 5 ground balls. Teammates Sutherland, Griffin Kology and Anthony Ghobriel also won 3 ground-ball battles.

The Hoos had a great night at the faceoff X, as Andrew Grenspan and Ghobriel both went well over 50 percent, allowing for extra possessions and opportunities to attack.

“We are very lucky to have those two different faceoff approaches,” Tiffany said.

The Cavaliers started this one out strong by scoring the first three goals of the match. Colsey opened up the scoring in the second minute for his fifth this year. Cosley came ready to play Tuesday, as he scored twice and also made 3 assists in the first quarter, with the Hoos leading, 6-2, entering the second.

UVA had numerous players contribute, as well as get on the scoring sheet throughout the match.  Cosley scored his third of the first half when Sunderland made a great no-look pass, finding on the doorstep where Cosley snuck the ball past Overend. Sunderland recorded two goals of his own in the first half, allowing the Hoos to take a 10-4 lead heading into halftime.

The Panthers (2-2) started the second half capitalizing on a UVA penalty, with Collin Rovere scoring his third of the match. After allowing the opening goal of the half, the Hoos responded and scored the next three goals in Colsey, Mencke, and Millon. The Cavaliers had a 15-6 lead entering the fourth.

Cosley recorded his sixth and final goal early in the period before resting for the remainder of the game. Mikie Harmeyer made a tremendous hustle play midway through the fourth by creating a turnover on Overend while he was out behind his net. Harmeyer stripped Overend, collected the ground ball and made a tremendous diving shot just outside the crease.

“I was very happy with our 10-man ride tonight,” Tiffany said. “You may not play as an attackman at Virginia if you don’t ride.”

Nikolozi Khutsishvili Photo Gallery

ADDITIONAL NOTES
Courtesy UVA Media Relations

  • UVA has finished above .500 at the faceoff X in all three games played this season.
  • Virginia’s man-down unit surrendered its first goal of the year. The Cavaliers have killed 12 of their opponents’ 13 man-up chances this season.
  • The Hoos out-performed High Point on the ground [40-27] and in the turnover margin [23-13].
  • Colsey recorded career highs in goals (6), assists (3) and points (9).
  • As a midfielder in 2024, Colsey finished the season with 19 goals and four assists. He already has 10 goals and five assists on attack.
  • Colsey’s six goals and nine points are the most ever by a UVA player in a single game against High Point.
  • Colsey is the second Cavalier to record nine points in a game this year, joining Sunderland, who also did so in UVA’s season opener against Colgate (Feb. 8).
  • Millon has dished out three assists in all three games so far this season.
WITH THE WIN…
  • The Cavaliers improved to 6-2 in the all-time series, including 5-2 at Klöckner Stadium.
  • UVA extended its win streak in the series with the Panthers to four consecutive games, the longest by either team in series history.
  • The Cavaliers clinched the largest margin of victory by either team in series history.

UP NEXT

Virginia travels to Ohio State for its first road game of the season. Opening faceoff is set for noon and can be streamed with a paid subscription to B1G+.