The Virginia Cavaliers (8-7) concluded the season with a non-conference loss to the Penn Quakers (7-5) on Saturday afternoon, 17-11, at Koskinen Stadium in the ACC Showcase game.
“The end of the 2017 season is tough to swallow,” said Virginia men’s lacrosse head coach Lars Tiffany. “The University of Virginia Lacrosse program has too proud of a history for our staff to settle for anything less than exceptional lacrosse. We did not achieve this in 2017. Our staff has a great deal to accomplish moving forward, and we are eager and excited to do the necessary work.
“Our staff will miss the fourth and fifth years whom have been outstanding representatives of the University of Virginia. As they move on from Charlottesville and commence with new adventures in their lives, they must know that all of the work they performed for this men’s lacrosse program has made a difference.”
Ryan Lukacovic and AJ Fish put UVA up early, 2-0, with 11:24 left in the first quarter. Penn retaliated with a 7-2 run, taking a 7-4 lead with 12:39 left in the second quarter. After Kevin McGeary capped the Penn run on a helper from Chris Santangelo, UVA evened the score at 7-7. The 3-0 Cavalier run was started and ended by Milan Murray. Joe French also scored during the spurt after a Zed Williams goal was saved. French picked up the garbage and deposited the ball into the goal off the quick rebound. Murray’s second goal of the game at 6:27in the second quarter capped the run, courtesy of a Michael Kraus assist.
Penn used a 5-1 run to take the lead for good. Santangelo’s unassisted goal with 13:47 left in the third quarter capped the run for the Quakers, giving Penn a comfortable 12-8 lead. Ryan Conrad and Williams scored back-to-back to cut the UVA deficit to two goals, 12-10, with 6:05 left in the third quarter. The Cavaliers did not get any closer. Penn finished the game on a 5-1 spring to secure the non-conference victory for the Quakers, the second in 2017 over the Cavaliers. UVA fell at Penn 11-10 on February 25.
Fish led UVA with two goals and two assists, while Murray and Williams each had two goals in the losing effort. UVA’s six starting offensive players all tallied at least one goal.
Penn was led by Adam Goldner’s five goals and six points. Simon Mathias added three goals, while nine Quakers scored at least one point in the winning cause.
Virginia won the battle of shots (42-38). Penn won the battle of ground balls (36-27), including a margin of 19-7 in the second half. The Quakers also had more faceoff wins (20-12) and turnovers (14-11). The saves category was even (12-12).
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Chris Graham
