Top-ranked Virginia rallied to force overtime, but Daniel Kelly scored the game-winner with 2:19 left to lift Maryland to a 14-13 win at Klöckner Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The win is the third straight of the series for the third-ranked Terrapins (5-2).
Attendance for the Top 3 showdown was 5,745, the most spectators at a UVA men’s lacrosse home game since 2013.
The UVA defense held the Terrapins scoreless for a total of 12:31 in the first half until a Maryland goal with 2:41 left in the half broke up a 6-0 Virginia run as the Cavaliers led 6-4 going into the break.
Maryland outscored UVA 6-3 in the third period with the help of a pair of goals from Jack Koras and Braden Erksa.
Thomas McConvey found the back of the net – unassisted – with three seconds left in the third period to cut the Maryland lead to 10-9 heading into the fourth.
The Terps scored back-to-back goals just 11 seconds apart early in the fourth to extend their lead back to three [12-9]. After Xander Dickson notched his 26th goal of the season on an assist from Jeff Conner, which shrank the Maryland lead to 12-10, neither team found the back of the net for nearly nine minutes of action.
Griffin Schutz’s second goal of the game with 3:41 cut the Terps’ lead back to one [12-11]. Koras scored a minute later before McConvey found Connor Shellenberger on the doorstep, who buried his first score of game with 1:56 to go in regulation.
After Petey LaSalla won the ensuing faceoff, McConvey ripped a shot that was placed perfectly in the upper corner to tie the game, 13-13, for the first time since the 5:20 mark in the third.
After winning the final faceoff in regulation, Maryland signaled for time with 1:12 to play and ultimately held the ball until late in the period. UVA short-stick defensive midfielder Grayson Sallade tipped Terrapin a pass in the waning seconds of regulation to erase all hope of a Maryland shot attempt.
In the overtime period, UVA had three chances to win it, including two opportunities off a Maryland failed clear. After McConvey’s shot was saved by Ruppel, UVA midfielder Evan Zinn gathered the rebound and fired another shot from the crease, which deflected off a diving Ruppel, and the Terps secured the rebound.
Nunes made a save on a shot by Kelly in transition with 2:47 to play.
After a called timeout by the Terrapins, Kelly notched the game winner after receiving pass from X and firing a shot from the top of the box, which got past Nunes to seal the win.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for our men to come back, being down three early in the fourth quarter, then being down two with only a couple minutes left. And just feeding off the energy the crowd and explosion, especially when Thomas McConvey tied it up there with 78 seconds left. Those are some big positives for us,” Virginia coach Lars Tiffany said.
“A lot of great things happened today. What a great lacrosse game. Obviously, it stings. It hurts. You get kicked in the gut when you lose it in overtime, but let’s not lose sight. This was a fantastic environment. Thank you to the 5,700 fans. What a great crowd. Great energy and great lacrosse out here today,” Tiffany said.
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Chris Graham
