The Tar Heels jumped out to a big lead early, touching Virginia starting pitcher Artie Lewicki for four runs in the second inning.  The Tar Heels scored all four runs in the inning without an extra base hit and they played small ball for the entire game, preferring to sacrifice bunt runners into scoring position rather than rely on extra base hits.

            Despite the rough second, Lewicki settled down and lasted into the fifth inning, giving up four runs on six hits, five of which came in the second inning.  The Cavaliers tried to claw back into the game as Stephen Bruno led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run into the left field bleachers.  The home run was the third of the season for Bruno.  The Wahoos cut the UNC lead to 4-2 in the fifth when Bruno hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and one out.  However, one run was all the Cavaliers would get in the inning, and the Tar Heels extended their lead again in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Parks Jordan off of Virginia reliever Kyle Crockett.

            Unlike the Tar Heels, the Cavaliers could not string together a group of hits that would lead to a big inning.  Except for that second inning, the Virginia pitching staff kept the Wahoos in the game, allowing just three hits and one run after the four run second.  Benton Moss for North Carolina threw six innings and struck out nine UVa batters while earning the win.  Michael Morin came into the game in the eighth and got the final four outs to earn the save.

            With the loss, the Cavaliers remain in third place in the Coastal Division in ACC play and are three games behind both North Carolina and Miami.  The Tar Heels next face High Point in Chapel Hill while Virginia takes on Richmond in Charlottesville, hoping to end its home losing streak.

Miranda Mason shows you how easy it is to register to get in the game and save a life. The University of Virginia football program hosted it’s third annual bone marrow registry on grounds Monday April 16.

Star tailback Perry Jones scored two touchdowns to lead the Orange team to a 20-17 victory over the Blue team in Virginia's annual spring football game. (Photo from thesabre.com)

Over the weekend, the Virginia football team took the field at Scott Stadium for the annual Orange and Blue spring game, a chance for Mike London and the coaching staff to evaluate where their players have improved (or regressed, as the case may be) since the end of last season and a chance for Virginia fans to start stirring up their excitement for the next season before this school year is even over. The Orange team, made up of the first-team offense and the second-team defense, defeated the Blue squad (the top “D” and the second-string offense) in a surprisingly exciting 20-17 game, behind two rushing touchdowns from Perry Jones. Jones will be a major focal point for Bill Lazor’s offense in 2012, but that was a given. What else did we learn from the first scrimmage of the new season? Let’s find out.

The passing game will be healthy for the foreseeable future. Returning starting quarterback Michael Rocco, who improved his game steadily as the 2011 season went on, looked sharp for much of the game after shaking off a little rust on the Orange team’s first series. He did not toss a touchdown, but his decision-making was solid, and he put crisp balls where his receivers could get to them. Sophomore David Watford, Rocco’s backup, looked improved as well. The Hampton product impressed with his arm strength and athleticism, and seems set to earn the No. 2 spot ahead of early enrollee Greyson Lambert. Speaking of which…

Don’t expect to see Greyson Lambert suit up this year. The 6’5” signal-caller from Georgia, one of the only recruits to enroll early and participate in the game, did not come in until the second half. He looked sharp on his first drive, completing all four of his passes for 54 yards and a touchdown to tailback Kevin Parks. But after that drive, he looked a little shakier, completing just two of his next eight. London and Lazor are smitten with Watford’s ability, so he will get the nod as the backup QB, which makes it more likely that Lambert will redshirt in 2012 in order to gain some separation, class-wise, from Watford. More on the passing game…

The person who picks up where Kris Burd left off last year as a top target will not be a wide receiver. Virginia’s old moniker of “Tight End U” looks set to make a comeback this year. Young guns Jake McGee and Zachary Swanson both produced early and often. McGee in particular was a top target of Rocco and Watford for the Orange team; he had a long catch and great open-field run on the first drive and nearly turned a medium-length pass from Watford into a second-half touchdown. Add returners Colter Phillips, who missed the game due to injury, and Paul Freedman to that mix, as well as the receiving ability of Jones and Parks out of the backfield, and 2012 could be another year of relatively low wide receiver production for the Cavaliers.

We haven’t seen the true Virginia running game yet. In a game where only one returning starter on the offensive line took the field (Morgan Moses, who slid from right tackle to left tackle), all four touchdowns were still scored by running backs. Jones powered in his two touchdown runs, Parks scored on a swing pass, and Khalek Shepherd busted through a truck-sized hole and cruised 75 yards for a second-half touchdown. Even with the improvement in the passing game so far this offseason, look for the ground attack to be a major focal point for London and Lazor, especially early in the season.

There are a ton of new faces patrolling Virginia’s defense this season. The defensive line has been decimated by the departures of ends Cam Johnson and Matt Conrath and tackle Nick Jenkins. The secondary lost star cornerback Chase Minnifield, safeties Rodney McLeod and Corey Mosley, and top backup Dom Joseph to graduation. On top of that, middle linebacker Steve Greer and defensive end Billy Schautz did not play in the spring game due to injury. Sophomore corner Demetrious Nicholson and senior linebacker LaRoy Reynolds were the only returning starters to see action Saturday. Let’s just say the heralded recruiting trio of defensive ends Eli Harold and Michael Moore and linebacker Kwontie Moore can’t get to Charlottesville fast enough.

Special teams will be hugely important again in 2012 – and it is an area that needs a lot of work. Virginia lost both of its kickers, placekicker Robert Randolph and kickoff specialist Chris Hinkebein, and punter Jimmy Howell to graduation. On top of that, the departed Minnifield was the team’s most sure-handed punt returner. One year later, the Cavaliers’ special teams unit is searching desperately to fill those spots. Sophomore Alec Vozenilek seems to have stepped into the punter slot fairly well, but a kicking competition is likely to carry on into the summer between junior Drew Jarrett, who made two field goals for the Orange team, and redshirt freshman Ian Frye, who boomed a 42-yarder for the Blue squad. The spot of focus will be punt returner, though – a position that the Cavaliers struggled to fill effectively after Minnifield suffered a midseason injury. Sophomore Dominique Terrell, unfortunately, appears to have not gotten over his ball-security issues, fumbling a punt, although he was bailed out on the field by a halo interference penalty. Sophomore tailback Clinton Richardson also muffed one of Vozenilek’s kicks, which seems likely to take him out of the running. Nicholson and sophomore wide receiver Darius Jennings fielded their kicks somewhat surely, indicating that they are likely to be the first in line for the spot. Another option could be Perry Jones, who returned a few punts last year and displayed some explosiveness, but London may want to keep his star player focused on offense and out of possible injury situations.

11 seniors were recognized at  this last regular season game, Senior Night, including attackers Steele Stanwick and Chris Bocklet and goalkeeper Rob Fortunato. Stankwick is also one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and the winner will be determined in May and announced at the 2012 NCAA Championship.

The Cavaliers (10-2, 2-1 ACC) did not look like the best team in the nation out on the field last night in front of the 7234 fans in attendance , however, they did split possession with Duke pretty evenly. Duke (11-3, 2-1 ACC) outshot Virginia 42-33 but the Cavaliers managed more saves than Duke and ended the game 16-12 in saves. Both teams won the face-off an equal number of times and the Blue Devils had 39 ground balls, whereas Virginia was not far behind with 37. Head coach Dom Starsia realized his team could have the first touch on the ball, but sometimes could not carry through with the play to make a goal. “We might win the draw more often than not, but until you get the ball settled in your offensive end in the hands of one of your leaders on offense, you haven’t really won the faceoff,” he said.

Both of Duke’s top scorers made goals yesterday and the two that follow close behind in points also contributed big points to the game. Midfielder Jordan Wolf, the team leader with 49 points, made two goals and three assists in this game. Attacker Josh Dionne made four of the 13 goals for the Blue Devils and Christian Walsh was not far behind with his three goal contribution.

Duke’s Wolf made the first goal of the game with 11:16 to go in the first quarter. The Cavaliers went scoreless in the first quarter for the first time this season and Matt White evened the score at 1-1 off of an assist by midfielder Colin Briggs two minutes into the second half. The Blue Devils responded with a 3-0 run, the third goal coming off the left side of the goal by Josh Dionne only a minute and a half into the second half. Dionne faced no challenge in adding three more goals in the third quarter as part of the team’s 6-0 run, while Virginia went scoreless for another quarter.

Virginia Junior Matt White acquired a foul for pushing in the second quarter of the game and this added a 30 second advantage for the opposing team.

If it was not already evident that Virginia was not going to gain the lead, it was clear after the fourth period. Sophomore defender Luke Duprey swept the ball into the goal, with some help from Jordan Wolf, only 40 seconds into the last quarter. The Cavaliers responded with 13:42 remaining in the game with a goal by Briggs, assisted by All-American Steele Stanwick. Stanwick tried to bring up the score with another assist and a goal, but this came too late in the game. Sophomore Mark Cockerton’s goal at 7:06 proved the best strategy for Virginia as three players formed a triangle around the goal and forced the ball in. Duke’s defense formed a wall against the Cavaliers and they really had to force their way in. Fans started to leave the stadium as Duke finished off the game with two goals by sophomore attacker Christian Walsh, the last goal unassisted with 18 seconds remaining.

“They really challenged us on the perimeter, probably more than we have been. I don’t think we really got going until the fourth quarter there,” Stanwick said, reassuring that the team wasn’t playing their best at the game.

Coach Starsia also had similar input about Virginia’s performance. “We needed to weigh them down … we needed to have sustained possessions in which we really made it work for a long period of time. We didn’t have that in us today,” he said

Virginia will host the ACC Tournament next weekend at Klockner stadium. This loss allowed the Blue Devils to clinch the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Duke will face fourth-seeded Maryland at 5 p.m. Friday and Virginia will take on third-seeded North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. in the second semifinal. The ACC Championship game will be Sunday at 3 p.m. and all games will be covered by ESPNU.

Although Virginia came through in the end, Boston College dominated possession throughout most of the game and out-shot the Cavaliers 23-19. With 23:22 minutes remaining in the second half, Virginia went on a 5-0 run to bring the score up to 10-8, leaving less than 11 minutes in the game. The two teams took turns scoring points until the Cavaliers totaled 12 points and took the home win.

Sophomore attacker Katie Slater and redshirt senior attacker Ainsley Baker led the Cavaliers with three goals apiece. Freshman attacker Sloan Warren and senior midfielder Julie Gardner were also important contributors to the game with two goals and one assist each. Midfielder Kristin Igoe, a graduate student, had the best performance for the Eagles, tallying three goals on seven shots and adding one assist. Attacker Brooke Blue added three points to the game for Boston College and her and Igoe kept their team in the lead for the first half.

The Eagles had 17 draw controls in the game and the Cavaliers had only seven, showing how much better the opposing team was at controlling starts and possession during the game. The Cavaliers made four saves, three of them by junior goalkeeper Kim Kolarik and one by sophomore Liz Colgan. Kolarik holds the second-best average for saves in the ACC at 6.8 per game. Boston College had five saves, all by freshman Emily Mata. Boston College’s defense formed a difficult barrier for Virginia to cross and forced 11 turnovers, but also committed 22 team fouls over the course of the game.

Virginia moved up from the fourth to the third position in the ACC and stands behind only the nation’s No. 5  and No. 3 teams, North Carolina and Maryland, respectively.

The Cavaliers look to increase their winning streak to five as they takes on Harvard  this Monday at Klockner stadium at 7 p.m.

Virginia was on the board within the first 20 seconds after senior attacker Josie Owen scored on a free position shot. Less than a minute later, freshman attacker Sloan Warren also netted a free position shot. JMU quickly scored the next two goals to tie the game.

The two teams traded goals throughout the first half, though JMU only lead once. The first half ended with UVA retaining their 2-goal lead of 8-6. Up to that point Josie Owen already had 4 goals and 1 assist, while Sloan Warren added 3 goals.

Instead of frantic back and forth scoring like the first half, the second featured UVA slowly pulling away with their lead. Virginia scored first, another Owen goal, and JMU fired back with another. But, after a 3-goal surge by UVA, JMU never was in reach again. After 2 goals apiece from Owen and Warren, the game ended with a final score of 13-9.

Owen dominated the game, ending with 6 goals, 1 assist, 4 ground balls, and 5 draw controls. Likewise, Warren made a huge impact with 5 goals and 3 draw controls.

“The offense was great. Sloan really stepped up and everyone was working together. You see people scoring goals but that all happens because 6 other girls are out on the field working hard to get you open,” Josie Owen offered.

Freshmen Morgan Stephens and Jess Loizeaux added a goal each to round out the scoring, while Kelsey Gahan and Julie Gardner both notched an assist.

Goalie Kim Kolarik amassed 4 saves, all in the second half. She was recently named the ACC defensive player of the week for the second time this season.

A major factor in UVA’s win was draw controls; they held a 15-9 advantage. JMU led in turnovers, 11 to 6. Virginia led a 30-18 count in shot attempts as well.

This win snaps the two game winning streak that JMU had over UVA, and they fall to 4-4 for the season.

On the upcoming Duke matchup, Warren added, “it was crucial to have this win today and have that energy and momentum to restore our confidence.”

Virginia next faces the 6^th ranked Duke away on Saturday for another ACC matchup. Their next home game is on Wednesday the 28^th as they host Old Dominion.

The sixth-seeded Virginia women’s basketball team defeated 11^th-seeded Boston College 72-41 in the first round of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament March 1. The Cavaliers improved their record to 22-9 Thursday, also breaking the record for the lowest point total the Virginia program has allowed in tournament game history. The margin of 31 points is the second largest of its all-time triumphs in the ACC tournament, exceeded only by a 33 winning margin against Florida State in the 1996 quarterfinals.

Senior point guard Ariana Moorer and sophomore guard Ataira Franklin dominated the court, scoring 20 points apiece, making four steals each and shooting perfect from the free throw line. Moorer earned All ACC Second Team honors and Franklin received All-ACC Honorable Mention for regular-season play and they performed with nothing less, as seen with their contributions to the victory Thursday. The team outrebounded their opponent for the 15^th time this season, going 38-32 during the tournament-opening game.

Junior forward Telia McCall added 13 of 27 bench points and five rebounds to the game. The Virginia defense formed a tough barrier for the Eagles to break through and forced 23 turnovers. The Cavaliers are ranked third in the country for turnover margin and are No.5 in steals per game, making 15 against Boston College alone.

No. 6 Maryland defeats Virginia

Although the Cavaliers entered the ACC Quarterfinals Friday off a victory over Boston College in the first round, they couldn’t play with the same intensity against Maryland. The March 2 Quarterfinals featured some surprises early on as seventh-seeded Wake Forest upset second-ranked Miami and ninth-seeded NC State triumphed over top-seeded Duke. Virginia hoped to follow the trend and come out on top against Maryland, but they weren’t able to muster enough energy to pull it off. This was the first meeting between the teams at the ACC Tournament in 17 years.

Ariana Moorer made 19 points and seven rebounds against Maryland, but she missed a free throw and broke her 36 free throw streak. Ataira Franklin went only 3-for-15 on the field with nine total points and two steals. Junior guard Lexie Gerson – who was named to the All-ACC Defensive Team – added 16 points, four rebounds and three steals but even with her contributions the team was not able to change the Terrapin lead determined early in the game.

The Cavaliers shot only 12.5% from behind the arc but the Terrapins made 70% of three-pointers on 7-of-10 attempts. Virginia managed to clear up part of the 20 point deficit they had at half time and fell to the Terrapins by 12 points, 70-58. They fought hard in the second half but ACC Player of the Year Alyssa Thomas proved to be too much for them to take on, this game being her third straight game scoring at least 18 points. Maryland benefitted greatly from the height of the players they had in the game and the Cavaliers had a hard time scoring past the defense. Virginia was outrebounded 43-21.

Virginia’s Sophomore forward Jazmin Pitts left the game with an injury to the head in the second half and was being evaluated for concussion symptoms.

The team will have some time off to recover and prepare for the NCAA tournament, as they wait for their placing to be determined. The Cavaliers managed a 22-10 winning record during coach Joanne Boyle’s first season as head coach at Virginia including a big win against the then-No.3 Tennessee Volunteers earlier this season.

Florida State guard Ian Miller (30) shoots over Virginia guard Sammy Zeglinski (13) in the final seconds Thursday. The shot gave Florida State a 63-60 win over Virginia. (AP Photo/Andrew Shurtleff via roanoke.com)

If I told you that two of Florida State’s top three forwards left the game Thursday, one due to ejection and the other after fouling out, that Seminoles guard Michael Snaer, who has made two game-winning three-pointers this season, went 0-for-3 from deep, and that Virginia’s Mike Scott dominated the game with ten rebounds and an ACC career-high 28 points, how many points would you think Virginia had won by? Five? Ten? 20?

Problem is, no matter your answer, you’d be wrong.

Florida State guard Ian Miller came off the bench to score 18 points – 15 of them in the second half, including a game-winning three-pointer with 0.8 seconds to play – as the Seminoles overcame the ejection of senior leader Bernard James to spoil Virginia’s Senior Night with a 63-60 road win. The loss marks the Cavaliers’ second-straight three-point loss at home after a 54-51 defeat to North Carolina last Saturday. Starting with a 58-55 loss at Florida State Feb. 4, Virginia has dropped five of their last eight, and have played themselves firmly onto the bubble of the NCAA Tournament after a phenomenal start to the season.

With just under five minutes to play, James and Harris got into a violent collision at midcourt going for a ball in the air, one initiated by Harris, who earned a personal foul for his trouble. But when the two players hit the floor, James kicked out at Harris, catching him in the ribcage with his foot. After an extended conference by the officials, James was assessed a flagrant foul and sent to the locker room. Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said that James’s ejection galvanized his players and set the tone for their play over the last several minutes of the contest.

“No question about it, it did energize them,” Hamilton said after the game. “They were saying ‘We’ve got to pick it up, we’ve still got a chance to win, we’ve got enough time.’ Anytime you hear those types of things coming out of your kids’ mouths…realizing, ‘We lost our big guy, and so now everybody’s got to step it up.’”

Virginia, down nine at halftime, came out strong in the second half, with Harris and senior guard Sammy Zeglinski scoring eight apiece after the break despite being held to a combined total of one point in the first half. The Cavaliers built a lead that climbed as high as 11 points with 4:33 to play, but then crumbled, as the Seminoles closed the game on a 16-2 run that hinged heavily on what was essentially a six-point play for Florida State. Miller converted a three-point play, then Harris was called for an offensive foul trying to get open against the Seminoles’ full-court press. Off the resulting inbounds play, Miller drained a long-range shot to cut the Virginia lead to 58-55.

The total time off the clock from the whistle on Miller’s layup to the made three-pointer?

One second.

The Cavaliers were plagued by turnovers during the game-ending run, giving it away four times in the last 3:30, including one with 36 seconds left when Zeglinski got in the lane and tried to find sophomore forward Akil Mitchell down low, but the ball caromed off Mitchell’s hand and out of bounds to set up Florida State’s final possession.

Virginia’s resources were drained by the absence of freshman guard Malcolm Brogdon, who joined senior center Assane Sene on the bench in street clothes due to a foot injury. Virginia coach Tony Bennett refused to comment on the status of the injured players, but at this point in the season, the depth of the squad has to become a pivotal concern. Four Cavaliers – Scott, Harris, Zeglinski, and point guard Jontel Evans – played at least 35 minutes, and with freshman guard Paul Jesperson not receiving consistent playing time, it seems as if Virginia is playing with a 6.5-man rotation sans Brogdon and Sene.

Virginia now has one game remaining, a rematch at Maryland Sunday, before the ACC tournament. A win against the Terrapins, who the Cavaliers thrashed 71-44 in Charlottesville two weeks ago, likely wraps up the No. 4 seed in Atlanta (and a first-round bye) for Virginia, but after a disappointing ACC stretch, it is unclear what will be required of the Cavaliers to punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

“We’ve just got to try to play well against Maryland,” Bennett said postgame. “I can’t tell you what exactly is required for us, where we’re at…I know we’ve got to play well, and we’re capable of it.”

Some things that have to improve for Virginia to have the ability to make a run in postseason play:

Someone else besides Mike Scott has to score consistently. Virginia got 27 combined points from Harris, Zeglinski, and Evans, but the problem is it required 24 shots, and only five of those points came in the first half. Harris’s confidence is finally starting to return after his broken hand, but Zeglinski needs to string together a consistent full game to draw some defense away from Scott, who draws the opposition’s full attention every night the way Virginia is playing now.

Rebounding. To be fair, the Florida State edge in rebounding, at 27-21, was much less severe than the margins against North Carolina, who outrebounded Virginia by at least 19 in both meetings. However, no Virginia player besides Scott contributed more than two rebounds against the Seminoles. This has to change if Virginia wants to have a chance against a Carolina or Duke squad in the ACC tournament, or, quite frankly, against anyone in the NCAA Tournament.

Health. Malcolm Brogdon and Assane Sene, consider this my personal plea to you to get better and back on the court as soon as humanly possible. Don’t jeopardize your well-being, but if you can play, we need you. Brogdon provides athleticism and solid defense off the bench to go with the ability to score in spurts, and Sene, while not gifted with a versatile offensive arsenal, still stands seven feet tall and represents Virginia’s best hope of slowing Carolina’s Tyler Zeller should they meet in Atlanta. For fatigue reasons (as stated above, four Cavaliers played 35 minutes. Imagine an NBA game where four players on one team play 42 minutes each – it’s unheard of) and foul trouble reasons (without subs to go to, foul trouble compounds itself for Virginia more than for most), the sooner Brogdon and Sene are back in the lineup, the better Virginia’s chances.

The ACC Tournament starts March 8 in Atlanta. The top four seeds receive first-round byes.

The first half was filled with tireless back and forth play and an almost 15 minute scoring drought. Syracuse got on the board first but 3 straight UVA goals, 1 from Morgan Stephens and 2 from Liza Blue, gave UVA their first lead of the day.

Josie Owen countered a late score from the Orange and crease rolled her way into netting her first goal of the game with 21 seconds left in the half. She steered the Cavs to a 5-3 score into half time after strengthening their slight lead.

Charlie Finnigan scored on two free position shots early in the second half to bolster Virginia. Julie Gardner also added a free position shot and Liza Blue shot her third goal of the day.

The score was 9-5 with just over 7 minutes left and the Orange quickly gained momentum by firing off two rapid goals in a span of under 40 seconds. UVA’s slim lead was cut even shorter with just 5 minutes left in play, but amazing stops by Kim Kolarik and insistent defenders allowed them to silence Syracuse’s growing comeback.

In their 8^th consecutive victory over the Orange, the Hoos dominated on defense. Syracuse scored 23 goals in their previous game against Boston College and only managed 7 this afternoon. Goalie Kim Kolarik had several incredibly vital saves, especially during the second half. She ended the day with 10 saves, outmatching Syracuse goalies Alyssa Costantino and Kelsey Richardson who only collected 3 in total.

Reigning womenslax.com rookie of the week Liza Blue scored a game-high 3 goals, earning her first hat trick, and Charlie Finnigan added 2. Both Julie Gardner and Josie Owen added 1 goal and assist each. First year Morgan Stephens notched her first career goal and Ainsley Baker also chipped in with 1.

Syracuse topped Virginia in shots, 25-22, and ground balls, 17-14, but the teams tied with 9 draw controls apiece.

“I think whenever we needed a big defensive play she made a big stop,” Head Coach Julie Myers said on Kim Kolarik’s play. She also stressed the importance of her first year players, 4 of which regularly start this season.

Virginia’s 3 game home stand is complete and they head on the road to battle ACC foe Maryland on Friday. Their next home game is against North Carolina on March 10th.

The game quarter started with both teams scrambling for the first faceoff and Stony Brook quickly got on the scoreboard in the first minute. They scored again after a few minutes, yet it would be the last time they would score for 19 minutes.

The Cavs scored the next 3 goals of the quarter, led by Colin Briggs who had one goal and one assist during that stretch. The Cavs reached their first lead of the night at 3-2.

The next 15 minutes began with another 3 straight goals from UVA. Once again Colin Briggs was unstoppable, involved in all of those three plays. He assisted goals to Ryan Tucker and Chris Bocklet and netted one of his own from Steele Stanwick.

Stony Brook finally managed to find the back of the net again in the last 5 minutes of the second quarter to edge the score to 6-3, though first year Owen Van Arsdale notched his second goal of the day to give the Cavs their momentum back before heading to halftime.

Both teams scored two goals in the 3^rd quarter to maintain the Cavs’ lead 9-5. With 9:28 left in the quarter Steele made history by attaining his 100^th career goal with an assist from Mark Cockerton.  He followed it up a couple minutes later with another goal, with the help of Chris Bocklet.

In the final quarter Mark Cockerton had two scores, Colin Briggs added two assists and once again Steele Stanwick’s name was written in the history books due to him dishing out his 100^th assist. UVA scored 3 in the final period and shut out Stony Brook for the final 17 minutes of the game to end with a score of 12-5.

Virginia narrowly led Stony Brook in shots, 37 to 35, and bested them in ground balls 35 to 31. Also the Cavs held the edge in face-offs 13 to 8. However, Stony Brook combined less turnovers, 12 to Virginia’s 17.

Starting at goalie for UVA, Rob Fortunato saved 14 shots. Backup goalie Austin Geisler made a late appearance and added a save. UVA’s 15 saves outmatched Stony Brook’s mere 5 on the day.

After reaching a lead 3-2 in the first quarter, the Hoos never relented their lead for the rest of the game. Their defense was an integral part of their win today, only allowing 5 goals to the opposition.

Colin Briggs seemed to be involved in every play, tallying three goals and four assists. Stanwick chipped in two goals and three assists, while Mark Cockerton and Owen Van Arsdale both netted two goals. Chris Bocklet also scored and assisted one each.

Steele Stanwick became the third player in UVA history to join the elite club of collecting 100 goals and 100 assists on the career. He is also the 7^th in ACC lacrosse and the 44^th overall in collegiate lacrosse to accomplish this feat. Even more special is the fact that he reached both 100s in the same game. On his achievement, Steele says,  “I’m really humbled by it and obviously it’s a team sport so I couldn’t do any of it without my teammates.”

The Virginia men’s lacrosse team travels to Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday for their next game. On Saturday March 4^th Syracuse will head down to Charlottesville for a much-anticipated game.