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Virginia Dominates Maryland 14-4 to Advance to Finals
Story Links
May 24, 2003
Baltimore, Md. – by CHRIS McMANES
The Virginia Cavaliers’ Tillman Johnson will likely be named first- or second-team All-American on Monday. The Virginia goalie turned in an All-American performance Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium.
Johnson tied his career high in saves and Joe Yevoli scored three unassisted goals in the midst of a 9-1 run to lead Virginia in a 14-4 victory over the Maryland Terrapins in the 2003 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships.
The Cavaliers (14-2) will meet top-ranked and top-seeded Johns Hopkins for the national championship Monday at 11 a.m. ESPN will televise the game live. The Blue Jays advanced with a 19-8 win over Syracuse. An NCAA-record crowd of 37,823 saw both games.
Hopkins defeated No. 2 and second-seeded Virginia 8-7 on March 22.
The Cavs held the No. 3 and third-seeded Terps to their lowest point total of the year and the fewest goals in national semifinals history. Maryland (12-4), trying to advance to the national title game for the first time in five years, scored twice in each half and went 23 minutes and 34 seconds between second-half goals.
Johnson’s career-high-tying 18 saves keyed Virginia’s victory over its Atlantic Coast Conference rival and helped the team set the school record for wins.
“I felt good all day,” said Johnson, a junior from nearby Annapolis, Md. “I just wanted to stay relaxed and composed and just play my game. I didn’t want to let the crowd or the whole tournament overwhelm me.
“I just wanted to stay focused on the job at hand. That was my main objective going into this game.”
Terrapin Coach Dave Cottle sang Johnson’s praises.
“I thought Tillman Johnson was the difference in the first half,” Cottle said. “I think he had 11 saves and we (didn’t) shoot from real far outside. He made some great saves. When we were down 5-2 at the half, we were 11-for-11 clearing and we out-groundballed them (30-21), we outshot them (21-17), and we’re losing by three.
“Then the game got a little bit away from us in the third quarter.”
Matt Ward’s five points (four goals on four shots and one assist) tied Yevoli for the Cavalier team high. A.J. Shannon added a pair of goals, and Foster Gilbert contributed two assists. Virginia outscored Maryland 6-1 in the third quarter and fired 15 shots to the Terps’ eight.
The Cavaliers’ two leading scorers (John Christmas and Chris Rotelli) were held scoreless. Christmas has 34 goals and 11 assists on the year and Rotelli 25 and 19. Rotelli was named ACC Player of the Year.
“Every time they shot the ball, they got pretty good looks,” Maryland senior All-American defenseman Michael Howley said. “It’s pretty unbelievable when you shut down two of their best players and they still score over 10 goals. You’ve got to give Virginia credit. They played excellent today and they’re an excellent team.
“If we scored a goal, they would come back and score two, and it’s kind of frustrating playing defense.”
The Terps got one goal each from Mike Mollot, Brendan Healy, Sean Leary and Joe Parker. Paul Gillette had the team’s lone assist. Maryland’s leading scorer, freshman Joe Walters (46 points), did not score. He had three goals and an assist in the Terrapins’ 8-7 victory at Virginia on March 29.
Johnson allowed three goals and faced 34 shots in 56:20 of playing time. Many of his stops were at close range.
“I think clearly those kind of saves lift the whole group,” said Cavalier Coach Dom Starsia, who led Virginia to the 1999 NCAA Championship. “As a former defenseman myself, there’s nothing that does more for you than playing in front of somebody who’s stopping the ball and giving you that kind of effort.
“I think subtly it wore on Maryland a little bit. I think they looked a little like they were trying to cut it a little too fine offensively at time with some of their shots.”
NOTES — Rotelli, who will probably be named All-American on Monday, needs one assist to become the first Cavalier midfielder with at least 20 goals and 20 assists. … Virginia improved to 31-40 in the all-time series with the Terps. … The Cavs lost in last year’s national semifinals, 12-11 to Syracuse. They won their last championship game appearance, 12-10, over Syracuse at Maryland’s Byrd Stadium in 1999.
Maryland SCORING: GOALS: Joe Parker 1; Mike Mollot 1; Sean Leary 1; BrendanHealy 1.
ASSISTS: Paul Gillette 1.
Virginia SCORING: GOALS: Matt Ward 4; Joe Yevoli 3; A.J. Shannon 2; Kyle Dixon1; Billy Glading 1; Trey Whitty 1; Matt Poskay 1; Justin Mullen 1.
ASSISTS: Foster Gilbert 2; Joe Yevoli 2; Kyle Dixon 1; Brendan Gill 1; Matt Ward1.
Shots by period 1 2 3 4 Tot
————————————-
Maryland………… 12 9 8 10 – 39
Virginia………… 10 7 15 5 – 37
Ground balls by prd 1 2 3 4 Tot
————————————-
Maryland………… 13 17 9 9 – 48
Virginia………… 12 9 10 11 – 42
Face-offs by prd 1 2 3 4 Total
—————————————————-
Maryland………… 2-4 3-5 3-8 1-4 – 9-21
Virginia………… 2-4 2-5 5-8 3-4 – 12-21
Clears by period 1 2 3 4 Total
—————————————————-
Maryland………… 5-5 6-6 4-4 8-9 – 23-24
Virginia………… 5-8 7-8 5-5 6-6 – 23-27
Extra-man opps 1 2 3 4 Total
—————————————————-
Maryland………… 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-2 – 0-3
Virginia………… 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-5 – 0-6
Saves by period 1 2 3 4 Tot
————————————-
Maryland………… 5 2 3 1 – 11
Virginia………… 6 5 4 3 – 18
Turnovers by prd 1 2 3 4 Tot
————————————-
Maryland………… 5 5 3 6 – 19
Virginia………… 5 5 1 7 – 18
PENALTIES – MARYLAND 6/4:30; VIRGINIA 3/2:00.
Officials: Terry McNabb (R); Mike Randsy (FJ); Randy Doyle (U); Jill Morris (CBO)_.
VirginiaPos. ## Player G A Pts Sh SOG GB Face T/O CT Pen-Min
———————————————————————————
GK 9 Tillman Johnson….. – – – – – 3 – – –
ATT 2 John Christmas…… – – – 4 1 1 – 3 –
DEF 3 David Burman…….. – – – – – 1 – – 1
DEF 6 Brett Hughes…….. – – – – – 2 – – 1
ATT 14 Matt Ward……….. 4 1 5 4 4 – – 2 –
MID 15 Trey Whitty……… 1 – 1 3 1 4 – – 1
DEF 18 Ned Bowen……….. – – – – – 2 – – 1 1/ 1:00
MID 20 Jack deVilliers….. – – – – – 7 12-21 1 –
MID 32 Zach Heffner…….. – – – – – 1 – 1 –
ATT 42 Joe Yevoli………. 3 2 5 7 6 2 – – –
———- Substitutes ———-
1 Hatcher Snead……. – – – – – – – 1 –
5 Derrick Preuss…… – – – – – – – – –
8 A.J. Shannon…….. 2 – 2 7 4 4 – 1 1
10 Andrew Agoliati….. – – – – – – – – –
11 Kyle Dixon………. 1 1 2 2 2 – – 1 –
12 Billy Glading……. 1 – 1 4 3 2 – – –
16 Calvin Sullivan….. – – – – – – – 1 –
17 Brendan Gill…….. – 1 1 – – – – 2 –
19 Ryan Thompson……. – – – – – – – – –
21 Foster Gilbert…… – 2 2 1 – 2 – – –
22 Justin Mullen……. 1 – 1 1 1 – – – –
23 Mike Abbott……… – – – – – 1 – – –
24 Andrew Faraone…… – – – – – – – – –
25 Chris Rotelli……. – – – 2 1 7 – 2 –
27 Newton Gentry……. – – – – – – – – –
29 J.J. Morrissey…… – – – – – – – – –
33 Matt Poskay……… 1 – 1 2 2 1 – – –
35 Matt Paquet……… – – – – – 1 – – 1
36 Michael Culver…… – – – – – – – – –
39 Ryan Binder……… – – – – – – – – –
40 Patrick Buchanan…. – – – – – – – – – 1/ 0:30
44 Nathan Kenney……. – – – – – 1 – 2 1 1/ 0:30
Totals………….. 14 7 21 37 25 42 12-21 18 7 3/ 2:00
GOALTENDER SUMMARY
Virginia Minutes GA W/L 1 2 3 4 Saves
——————————————————————
9 Tillman Johnson….. 56:20 3 W 6 5 4 3 18
19 Ryan Thompson……. 3:40 1 0 0 0 0 0
Legend: Sh=shots SOG-shots on goal G=goals scored A=assists Face=faceoffs T/O=turnovers
CT=caused turnover SC=stick check INT=interception BLK=blocked pass/shot DCH=drawn charge
MarylandPos. ## Player G A Pts Sh SOG GB Face T/O CT Pen-Min
———————————————————————————
GK 3 Danny McCormick….. – – – – – 5 – 1 –
ATT 2 Brian Hunt………. – – – 4 3 2 – 2 –
MID 6 Drew Virk……….. – – – – – 3 – – – 1/ 0:30
ATT 11 Dan LaMonica…….. – – – 5 3 5 – 1 1
MID 13 Brett Harper…….. – – – – – 3 – – –
ATT 15 Joe Walters……… – – – 3 3 2 – 3 –
MID 18 Paul Gillette……. – 1 1 2 – 5 – – –
DEF 29 Lee Zink………… – – – – – 1 – – 1
DEF 42 Michael Howley…… – – – 1 – 3 – – – 2/ 2:00
DEF 44 Chris Passavia…… – – – – – 3 – – –
———- Substitutes ———-
1 Mike Mollot……… 1 – 1 3 1 3 – 4 –
4 Ian Healy……….. – – – 1 1 – – – –
5 J.R. Bordley…….. – – – – – 1 – – –
8 Frank Luciano……. – – – – – 1 – 1 – 1/ 1:00
9 Gavin Webb………. – – – – – – – – –
10 Brendan Healy……. 1 – 1 1 1 – – – –
14 Alex Melzer……… – – – – – – – – –
17 Matt Urlock……… – – – – – 1 – 1 –
20 David Tamberrino…. – – – – – 2 3-5 – –
22 Justin Smith…….. – – – 1 – 1 – 1 –
24 Dave Wagner……… – – – – – – – – –
25 Sean Leary………. 1 – 1 2 2 1 – 1 –
27 Matt Brock………. – – – 3 1 – – – –
28 Willy Passavia…… – – – 2 – 1 – – –
30 Jim Sbarra………. – – – – – – 0-4 – – 1/ 0:30
32 Joe Parker………. 1 – 1 4 4 1 – – –
33 Jamie Daue………. – – – 1 – – – 2 –
34 Ryan Moran………. – – – 5 3 1 – 1 – 1/ 0:30
35 Jeremy Pastula…… – – – – – 3 6-12 – –
37 Teddy Murphy…….. – – – – – – – – –
38 Andrew Schwartzman.. – – – 1 – – – – –
39 Bill McGlone…….. – – – – – – – 1 –
Totals………….. 4 1 5 39 22 48 9-21 19 2 6/ 4:30
GOALTENDER SUMMARY
Maryland Minutes GA W/L 1 2 3 4 Saves
——————————————————————
3 Danny McCormick….. 58:21 14 L 5 2 3 1 11
37 Teddy Murphy…….. 1:39 0 0 0 0 0 0
Legend: Sh=shots SOG-shots on goal G=goals scored A=assists Face=faceoffs T/O=turnovers
CT=caused turnover SC=stick check INT=interception BLK=blocked pass/shot DCH=drawn charge
SCORING SUMMARY:
Prd Time Team Type Goal Scorer Assists
———————————————————————————————1. 1st 9:41 VIRGINIA EVEN Matt Ward (22) Unassisted
2. 6:45 VIRGINIA EVEN Trey Whitty (4) Unassisted
3. 5:20 MARYLAND EVEN Joe Parker (1) Paul Gillette
4. 2nd 12:21 VIRGINIA EVEN A.J. Shannon (29) Unassisted
5. 6:19 VIRGINIA EVEN Billy Glading (23) Matt Ward
6. 5:16 MARYLAND EVEN Sean Leary (6) Unassisted
7. 3:20 VIRGINIA EVEN Matt Ward (23) Kyle Dixon
8. 3rd 13:48 VIRGINIA EVEN Matt Ward (24) Unassisted
9. 12:34 VIRGINIA EVEN Matt Poskay (7) Foster Gilbert
10. 12:01 MARYLAND EVEN Mike Mollot (20) Unassisted
11. 9:03 VIRGINIA EVEN Joe Yevoli (21) Unassisted
12. 6:31 VIRGINIA EVEN Joe Yevoli (22) Unassisted
13. 5:48 VIRGINIA EVEN Matt Ward (25) Foster Gilbert
14. 4:06 VIRGINIA EVEN A.J. Shannon (30) Joe Yevoli
15. 4th 10:42 VIRGINIA EVEN Joe Yevoli (23) Unassisted
16. 9:19 VIRGINIA EVEN Kyle Dixon (9) Joe Yevoli
17. 3:07 MARYLAND EVEN Brendan Healy (6) Unassisted
18. 2:52 VIRGINIA EVEN Justin Mullen (3) Brendan Gill
PENALTY SUMMARY:
Prd Time Team ##-Player Min Offense
———————————————————————————————
1st 14:08 VIRGINIA 18-Ned Bowen 1:00 PP SLASHING…………………………..
06:10 MARYLAND 6 -Drew Virk 0:30 PP ILLEGAL PROCEDURE…………………..
4th 10:21 VIRGINIA 44-Nathan Kenney 0:30 PP HOLDING……………………………
09:01 MARYLAND 30-Jim Sbarra 0:30 PP PUSHING……………………………
07:10 MARYLAND 8 -Frank Luciano 1:00 PP SLASHING…………………………..
01:39 VIRGINIA 40-Patrick Buchanan 0:30 PP PUSHING……………………………
00:59 MARYLAND 34-Ryan Moran 0:30 PP PUSHING……………………………
00:18 MARYLAND 42-Michael Howley 1:00 PP SLASHING…………………………..
00:18 MARYLAND 42-Michael Howley 1:00 PP TRIPPING…………………………..