#8 UVA men’s lacrosse blasts VMI, 17-3

Thirteen different Cavaliers scored a point as No. 8 UVA (7-2) rolled past in-state foe VMI (0-10) on Tuesday night, 17-3, at the Drill Field #2. It was Virginia’s first trip to Lexington since the 2009 season and seventh overall in a series that began in 1949.

“I thought it was a good effort overall,” said Virginia men’s lacrosse head coach Dom Starsia. “It is gratifying to be able to get everyone in the game. We have a lot of guys who work very hard every day. The last four games we have won by a total of five goals and we have not been able to substitute a great deal. For these guys who have been working at this since January, its nice that they are able to get a little time out there with the game uniform on. I thought we were clean with our fundamentals, I thought we handled the ball and shot it pretty well. It’s was a good day for us and now we have to turn around and get ready for a good Richmond team.”

Virginia was efficient on offense all night, scoring 17 straight goals. The Cavaliers were eyeing their first shutout since 2007, but allowed VMI to tally three scores in the game’s final 2:57. Virginia played 33 different players, including collegiate debuts by Tyler Breen, Chase Campbell, Harry Gillespie and Brandon Johnson.

UVa’s Mike D’Amario scored his first collegiate goal at 2:41 in the second quarter on a nifty behind the back shot, courtesy of an Owen Van Arsdale helper. D’Amario finished the game with three goals for his first career hat trick. Jacob Dean scored his first career goal, while Breen and Matt Emery notched their first career assists. Will Railey saved his first career shot in the third quarter.

Greg Coholan, Joe French and Van Arsdale also tallied hat tricks in the win. Coholan and Van Arsdale led the way with four points.

UVa scored four goals in the first quarter and seven in the second quarter for an 11-0 lead at halftime. The Cavaliers scored four goals in the third quarter and two more in the fourth quarter before they pulled the parachute and tried to run time off the clock, forcing a few 30-second timer-on situations.

Virginia won the battle of shots (38-31), ground balls (40-29), faceoffs (14-10) and saves (13-8). VMI had more turnovers (19-15).

Virginia returns to action on Saturday when the Cavaliers face their second in-state foe this week when the Richmond Spiders come to Klöckner Stadium. It’s the first time since 1986 that UVa has played two teams from the Commonwealth in the same week. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m.