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April 12, 2006
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The Virginia Cavaliers tied a school record with 21 draw controls in the game, including a 12-2 advantage in the first half, and defeated George Mason 13-9 tonight (Apr. 12) in Charlottesville. The No. 3 Hoos were led by Tyler Leachman, who had six in the game, giving her 100 in her career, the 11th Cavalier in school history to do so. Leachman also led the team in scoring with two goals and four assists, while Blair Weymouth and Jess Wasilewski each had a hat trick. Wasilewski added four draw controls as did Nikki Lieb, while Jen Holden led the Cavaliers (12-2) with four ground balls. Ginger Miles had 10 saves in the cage as Virginia celebrated fourth-year night. Melissa Venturi led the Patriots (7-5) with four goals while Laura King added a hat trick.
The 21 draws ties the Cavalier mark that was set against William & Mary in 2002; it also ranks as the fifth-highest single-game total in Division I history since 1982. Leachman’s 100th draw control came after Mason scored their eighth goal of the game at 54:03; she needs one more to tie Gina Sambus (’02) for tenth on the all-time list.
The Cavaliers opened up the game with a Whitaker Hagerman draw control, and after a Wasilewski shot was saved, Weymouth redefended on the clear attempt and caused a turnover that gave Virginia possession again. She fed the ball to a cutting Megan O’Malley, who scored at 1:09 to give UVa a 1-0 lead. Leachman won the draw and fed the ball ahead to Weymouth, who scored 10 seconds after O’Malley for a 2-0 lead. Leachman again won the draw and took it down to the cage herself, scoring 13 seconds after she assisted Weymouth for a 3-0 lead at 1:32. Hagerman won the fourth draw of the game and Virginia settled the ball briefly before Leachman fed a cutting Lieb, who scored at 2:50 for a 4-0 lead three minutes into the game.
The Patriots gained possession and advanced the ball into their attack zone but an errant shot was collected by Kim Connors behind the cage, and Virginia cleared the ball upfield where Weymouth was fouled on a drive to the goal. She converted the restart at 4:43 for a 5-0 lead. The Patriots ended the run with a crease roll from Venturi at 7:36.
The Cavaliers again exploded as Lieb caused a turnover in the arc and Holden scooped up the loose ball. She fed the ball up to Julie Hauser, who in turn passed the ball to Jessy Morgan. Morgan led the ball to Weymouth, who fed Claire Bordley. Bordley gave the ball to Breslin, who fired a riser into the cage for a goal at 12:21. The Patriots won the draw but lost the ball quickly and Holden was there to get the loose ball. Lieb dumped the ball into Leachman, who scored less than a minute after Breslin for a 7-1 lead at 13:17.
A Miles save started the next scoring sequence as the Cavaliers cleared the ball and settled their offense before Connors dumped the ball into Wasilewski for a goal at 18:10. Wasilewski won the draw and Virginia settled the ball before Ashley McCulloch was fouled at the top of the arc. She converted the 8-meter shot at 20:03, putting UVa up 9-1. A Laura King conversion of an 8-meter shot at 23:46 stopped the run, but Virginia answered right back as Wasilewski again won the draw and the Cavaliers set their offense where Megan Havrilla dumped a pass into Wasilewski, who quicksticked the ball into the cage at 24:24 for Virginia’s tenth goal of the game. A Patriot goal from King with 21 ticks in the half made the halftime score 10-3.
Mason jumped on top early in the second half as Venturi scored twice in the span of 44 seconds to cut the deficit to 10-5, and then she scored her fourth goal of the game at 42:50 for a 4-0 Patriot run to pull Mason within four at 10-6.
The Cavaliers answered as Lieb won the draw control and Virginia settled their offense before the fourth-year captain took the ball herself from the top to push the margin back to five at 11-6 at 43:52. A Miles save gave Virginia possession again and at the other end of the field Leachman dumped the ball into Wasilewski, who notched her hat trick at 46:22.
A Virginia turnover on the endline gave the Patriots possession down low, but on the attempted clear Leachman knocked down a pass and fed a wide-open Weymouth for a goal at 49:38, giving Leachman her fourth assist of the game and Weymouth her third goal. The Patriots closed with a three-goal run in a four-minute span to pull within four again at 13-9, but Lieb won the final draw of the game and the Cavaliers ran out the clock.
Virginia returns to action on Friday, April 14 as they travel to ACC rival Virginia Tech for a game at 7:00. The game counts in the Commonwealth Challenge Series presented by Adelphia, and the winner of the game will earn one point in the season standings. The Cavaliers have already clinched this year’s competition.
Linescore 1 2 F recordsMason 3 6 9 (7-5)Virginia 10 3 13 (12-2)
Scoring summary: 1:09 V O’Malley Weymouth 1-0 1:19 V Weymouth Leachman 2-0 1:32 V Leachman — 2:50 V Lieb Leachman 4:43 V Weymouth 8m 7:36 G Venturi —12:21 V Breslin Bordley13:17 V Leachman Lieb18:10 V Wasilewski Connors20:03 V McCulloch 8m23:46 G King 8m24:24 V Wasilewski Havrilla29:39 G King —34:05 G Venturi —34:49 G Venturi —42:50 G Venturi —43:52 V Lieb —46:22 V Wasilewski Leachman49:38 V Weymouth Leachman51:40 G Bryant 8m54:03 G Shelton —55:32 G King Shelton
Scoring: VA: Leachman 2-4-6; Weymouth 3-1-4; Wasilewski 3-0-3; Lieb 2-1-3; McCulloch 1-0-1; Breslin 1-0-1; O’Malley 1-0-1; Connors 0-1-1; ;Havrilla 0-1-1; Bordley 0-1-1 GM: Venturi 4-0-4; King 3-0-3; Shelton 1-1-2; Bryant 1-0-1
Keepers; VA: Miles (60 minutes, 10 saves, 9 GA) GM: Alsruhe (18:10 minutes, 2 saves, 8 GA); Nelson (41:50, 6 saves, 5 GA)
Draws: VA 21, GM 3Shots: VA 30, GM 24Ground balls: VA 18, GM 27Fouls: VA 14, GM 18Turnovers: VA 21, GM 13Caused turnovers: VA 7, GM 108-meter positions: VA 6, GM 88-meter shots: VA 3, GM 7Clearing: VA 10-15, GM 15-21