No. 14 UVA (7-4) cruised to a Tuesday night victory over the Cleveland State Vikings (3-8) at Klöckner Stadium, 20-7.
“I don’t know if you emotionally get used to playing so many one-goal games,” said UVA head men’s lacrosse coach Lars Tiffany “It is never really a comfortable situation. It felt great tonight that we came out and played with big energy and explosively in our transition game. That was the challenge. Cleveland State is a first-year program, a program that is going to take a few years before they can really be competitive, but will we take this challenge seriously? I am really proud of our men for doing that and taking it to task and the responsibilities of making plays tonight.”
Virginia opened the game on a 7-0 run in the first quarter on goals from seven different Cavaliers. Mitch Gordon was the highlight of the run, scoring his first collegiate goal unassisted at the 7:20 mark in the first quarter.
After Cleveland State dented the scoreboard for the first time on a Stephen Masi goal at 13:41 in the second quarter, UVA reeled a 9-1 run to give the Cavaliers a 16-2 advantage 37 seconds into the third quarter. Mikey Herring capped the run on a Cory Harris helper.
Cleveland State the rest of the way held a 5-4 advantage over UVA as the Cavaliers emptied the bench. In all, 35 different Cavaliers appeared in the game, including all four goalies. Eleven different Cavaliers scored a goal, while 15 different Cavaliers tallied at least one point in the win.
“Tonight, was an opportunity for a lot of our other men to play,” said Tiffany. “That is what I really take from this, it was a chance to improve. The whole season is a race to improve and hopefully another one tomorrow in practice. In a game situation, how are we going to step up? And some of the other guys that don’t get to play as much, will they be able to fill those roles when they’re needed in big moments.”
UVA was led by Joe French’s four goals and five points. French painted the initials “DW” on his leg in honor of Dan Williams, the father of Zed Williams who passed away on Friday. Zed Williams did not appear in the game against the Vikings as he is in New York attending his father’s funeral.
Mike D’Amario, Michael Kraus and Milan Murray each added three goals in the win. Herring led all players with four assists.
Virginia won the battle of shots (54-30), ground balls (52-28) and faceoffs (21-9). Cleveland State had more saves (16-10) and turnovers (16-14).
UVA returns to ACC play on Sunday against No. 20 North Carolina when the Tar Heels come to Klöckner Stadium. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPNU.
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Chris Graham
