Third-ranked Virginia nearly overcame a six-goal deficit at halftime, but #2 Duke held on to win 15-14 at Koskinen Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Virginia goalie Matthew Nunes made a career-high 17 saves, while Duke’s William Helm recorded seven of his 12 total saves in the fourth quarter.
Offensively, Virginia (8-3, 2-2 ACC) was led by Payton Cormier (4g), who notched his ninth hat trick of the season. Cormier’s four scores moved him to No. 2 on UVA’s all-time goals list, passing Michael Watson (142) and Matt Moore (143) in the process.
With 145 career goals, Cormier is now 20 goals shy of tying UVA’s all-time record held by Doug Knight (165).
UVA midfielder Griffin Schutz also recorded his third career hat trick with three goals and one assist.
In Duke’s 18th consecutive regular-season win over the Cavaliers, UVA struggled at the faceoff X, finishing 11-for-32, and lost the ground ball battle [37-34] for the first time this season.
Despite holding Duke star attackman Brennan O’Neill to just two goals on 11 shots and one assist, nine different Blue Devils (11-2, 3-2 ACC) found the back of the net in Saturday’s contest.
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Chris Graham
