Men’s Lacrosse: UVA posts 13-8 win over Lafayette on Senior Day

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

In a fast-paced game featuring two teams that impose aggressive 10-man rides, Virginia defeated Lafayette, 13-8, on Senior Day at Klöckner Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Thirty-four Virginia players checked into the game, including starting goalie Matthew Nunes (12 saves, 3 assists), who led the way for the Hoos in their penultimate regular-season game. 

With the win, Virginia improved to 6-7 this season and snapped a three-game skid. The Leopards, who had won five of their previous six games entering Saturday’s contest, fell to 8-5. 

Eight different Cavaliers found the back of the net, including attackmen McCabe Millon and Truitt Sunderland, both of whom finished with three goals and one assist.  

Despite losing the faceoff battle [13-10], Virginia’s ride provided itself with extra possessions as the Cavaliers forced nine Lafayette failed clears.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Leopards’ 10-man ride was on full display from the onset. After the two teams traded the first two goals, the Cavaliers successfully cleared seven of their first eight clears, many of which directly led to empty-net scores for the Hoos, including Wayer’s sixth of the season, which was assisted by Nunes and fired from behind the midline.

Virginia led 5-1 after the first 15 minutes of play. Millon had three points on two goals and an assist in the opening period. 

After Millon tacked on his third goal with a little over two minutes into quarter No. 2, the Leopards scored three straight to shrink the UVA lead to 6-4.

The Hoos kept Lafayette off the scoreboard for nearly the last 10 minutes of the first half, a span in which Charles Balsamo and Sunderland netted unassisted goals. Despite the Leopards collecting 18 ground balls in the second quarter and winning nine of the period’s 14 faceoffs, UVA led 8-4 at the break. 

For the second straight period, the two teams scored the same number of goals in the third. Sunderland grasped his hat trick when Schutz found him on the high crease,and he buried a low-release shot that fell in the back of the cage. A few moments later, Schutz scored his first and only goal of the day.

The Leopards notched the final two scores of the period, one of which was immediately followed by a UVA personal foul, which put Lafayette man-up. The Hoos proceeded to kill Lafayette’s second man-up chance of the day. However, in the waning seconds of the third, the Leopards scored on an outside shot that got past Nunes with one second remaining in the period. 

Virginia killed off Lafyette’s third and final extra-man chance after defenseman John Schroter was sent to the box upon stripping an opposing ballcarrier at the midline and then barreled him over, causing his helmet to go flying off. Nunes dished out his third assist in the fourth and eventually bowed out of Saturday’s victory with a little more than two minutes remaining.

Kyle Morris relieved Nunes, but the result had been virtually determined by that point. Reserve faceoff specialist Christian Grosso took all five of his draws in the second half and finished 3 for 5. Fittingly, graduate captain Jack Walshe assisted on the Cavaliers’ final goal of the day from Ryan Colsey.

ADDITIONAL NOTES 

• Virginia forced nine Lafayette failed clears on 32 attempts, which marks the first time UVA held an opponent under 75 percent clearing since holding High Point (15-22) to 68.2 percent on Feb. 18 earlier this year.
• Lafeyette finished with 26 turnovers, which marks the second time this season a UVA opponent finished with at least 25 giveaways. Colgate committed turnovers in the Cavaliers’ season opener on Feb. 8. 
• Virginia, which entered Saturday’s contest at the nation’s No. 2 man-down unit, held Lafayette scoreless on all three of its EMO chances. UVA has now killed 44 of its 51 opposing EMO chances this season, a clip of 86.3 percent. 
• Goalie Matthew Nunes dished out three assists. 
• Midfielder Will Inderlied extended his goal streak to five games, the longest of his career. 
• Prior to Saturday’s contest, Virginia recognized 16 fourth- and fifth-year student athletes for Senior Day, including: Thomas Mencke, Will Inderlied, George Fulton, Tommy McNeal, Griffin Schutz, Griffin Kology, Anthony Ghobriel, Noah Chizmar, Burke McFarlane, Mikie Harmeyer, Max Wooten, Chase MacCartee, Matthew Nunes, Ben Wayer, Dawson Chitwood and Tucker Mullen. 
• Virginia men’s lacrosse dedicated today’s game to the UVA Gordie Center, whose mission is to end hazing and substance misuse among college and high school students nationwide. 
• The team has partnered with the Gordie Center in numerous capacities, most notably by participating in its APPLE programming and alcohol awareness workshops for first-year student-athletes and parents at the beginning of each academic year.

WITH THE WIN… 

• The Cavaliers snapped their three-game skid. 
• Virginia improved to 3-0 in the all-time series with Lafayette, which began in 2022.
• Lars Tiffany is now 98-43 as UVA head coach. 
• The Hoos improved to 5-3 at home this season.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers host No. 13 Duke in the regular-season finale next Saturday. Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for 3 p.m. on ACC Network and WINA (1070 AM/98.9 FM). A win over the Blue Devils would assure UVA of a berth in the four-team ACC Tournament in Charlotte (May 2 & 4).