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Cavaliers Open Season with 19-8 win over Drexel
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The Virginia men’s lacrosse team opened the 2003 season with a 19-8 win over Drexel this afternoon at a rain-soaked University Video Highlights
The Virginia men’s lacrosse team opened the 2003 season with a 19-8 win over Drexel this afternoon at a rain-soaked University Hall Turf Field. The Cavaliers came out of the gates slow, building an 8-4 lead at halftime, but then exploded for eight fourth quarter goals to put the game away.
“I think our team played mediocre the first half, and we didn’t have intensity,” said senior midfielder A.J. Shannon. “We didn’t find out legs until the fourth quarter, and you could tell Drexel was getting tired out there.”
Shannon, who tallied a career-high five goals and added an assist, opened the scoring in the game’s first minute. He scored twice in the second period as the team’s traded goals for much of the period until Billy Glading and Chris Rotelli both found the back of the net to give the Cavaliers some breathing room going into halftime. Rotelli tied his career high with four goals, while chipping in with two assists.
“We were very slow getting going, and I was not pleased with the energy we brought out in the first half,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “I was pleased that we picked up the pace after halftime, but it took Drexel fouling us a couple times to wake us up, and I was pleased that we took control of the game midway through the third quarter.”
Virginia put three in the back of the Dragons’ net during the third quarter, with Rotelli, Shannon, and Glading each contributing, to extend the lead to 11-6. The Cavaliers dominated the fourth quarter, out-scoring Drexel 8-2, including six unanswered goals to seal the win. Nathan Kenney scored both of his goals during the period, while Rotelli added two.
Sophomore Jack deVilliers was strong on faceoffs winning 16 of 23 as the Cavaliers took 20 and lost just 10 overall.
Drexel goalie Will Melton was tremendous in the cage, recording 22 saves, while facing 63 shots by Virginia. Sophomore attackman Sean Moloney paced the Drexel offense with three goals, while linemate Brendan Morgan scored once and assisted on two goals.
Virginia returns to action next Saturday (March 1) with a trip North to face Syracuse at 3 pm at the Carrier Dome.
Score by period:
Drexel 1-3-2-2-8
Virginia 3-5-3-8-19
Att.-220
Shots: DU-29, UVa-63
Clearing: DU-17 of 29, UVa-22 of 30
Faceoffs: DU-10, UVa-20
Groundballs: DU-55,UVa-49
Penalites: DU-7-4:30, UVA-7-6:00
Extra-man scoring: DU-0 of 7, UVa-1 of 7
Goalie summary: DU-Will Melton-60 mins, 22 saves, 19 goals allowed. UVa- Tillman Johnson -53 mins, 7 saves, 7 goals allowed, Ryan Thompson -7 mins, 1 save, 1 goal allowed.
Drexel scoring (G-A)-Sean Moloney 3-0, Brendan Morgan 1-2, Brian Madeira 1-1, Matt Musci 1-1, Yoni Cohen 1-0, Pat Friel 1-0, Jarrett Mizzi 0-1.
Virginia scoring (G-A)-A.J. Shannon 5-1, Chris Rotelli 4-2, Joe Yevoli 3-0, Billy Glading 2-0, Nathan Kenney 2-0, John Christmas 1-1, Foster Gilbert 1-1, Kyle Dixon 1-0, Ned Bowen 0-1, Matt Ward 0-1, Trey Whitty 0-1.