Third quarter outburst leads Cavaliers to 15-4 win

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Virginia used a six-goal third quarter run to take control and gain a 15-4 win over Vermont this afternoon at Klckner Stadium in the first meeting of the two schools.

The win is the third in a row to start the season for the third-ranked Cavaliers, while Vermont, coached by former UVa All-American Ryan Curtis, falls to 0-2.

Trailing 6-2 at halftime, Vermont scored quickly off the second half faceoff as Luke LaBranche won the draw and fired a shot past goalie Adam Ghitelman. LaBranche’s goal was the Catamounts’ 14th shot of the game and they matched the Cavaliers shot for shot up to that point.

But the homestanding Cavaliers took control by scoring on five of their next seven shots over a six-minute span.

“I think in the Stony Brook game we got up quick in the beginning and kind of let up a bit,” said midfielder Brian Carroll. “This game was a little closer at the beginning, and at halftime we knew we needed to get it together in order to break the game open.”

Garrett Billings scored twice and Steve Giannone, Shamel Bratton and Jack Riley scored once each to give Virginia a comfortable 11-3 lead. Gavin Gill closed the third quarter with his second goal of the season as Virginia outshot Vermont 14 to 1 in the quarter. For the game Virginia held a 37-19 shot advantage.

The Cavaliers opened the game with three goals in the first four minutes, including extra-man goals by Carroll and Tim Fuchs. Down 3-0 before having a possession in the offensive zone, Andrew Kelleher scored back-to-back goals to pull the Catamounts to within one goal late in the first quarter.

“I don’t think offensively that we were as sharp as we needed to be early,” said UVa head coach Dom Starsia. “To give Vermont credit, they pressed out on us and put pressure on us. It seemed like early on that we did not want to do the work. Then I just thought we got a little smarter and started to move our feet a little more and complete some passes. It seemed like when we were a little more patient offensively that we could generate some good opportunities.”

Peter Lamade assisted on all three Cavalier goals in the second quarter to give his team a 6-2 lead at halftime.

Ten different Cavaliers scored goals, including a game-high three by Billings.

Virginia faces Syracuse in the second annual Face-Off Classic Saturday at noon at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The game is being televised on ESPNU. Johns Hopkins and Princeton square off in the afternoon’s second game at 2:30 p.m.

Vermont 2-0-1-14 record: 0-2
Virginia 3-3-6-315 record: 3-0
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Scoring (G-A) VM: Andrew Kelleher 2-0, Luke LaBranche 1-0, Kyle Hann 1-0, Geoff Worley 0-1. VA: Garrett Billings 3-1, Tim Fuchs 2-1, Brian Carroll 2-0, Steve Giannone 2-0, Rhamel Bratton 1-0, Shamel Bratton 1-0, Kevin Carroll 1-0, Gavin Gill 1-0, Garett Ince 1-0, Jack Riley 1-0, Peter Lamade 0-3, Danny Glading 0-2, John Haldy 0-1, George Huguely 0-1, Brian McDermott 0-1, Max Pomper 0-1.

Goalie SummaryVM: Justin Lubas 60 mins., 14 saves, 15 goals allowed. VA: Adam Ghitelman 45 mins., 4 saves, 3 goals allowed; Bud Petit 8:02, 0 saves, 1 goal allowed; Mark Wade 5:34, 1 save, 0 goals allowed; Rob Eimer 1:24, 1 save, 0 goals allowed.

Shots: VM19, VA37
Ground Balls: VM39, VA43
Clearing: VM15×25, VA21×27
Faceoffs: VM7, VA15
Penalties: VM7-5:00, VA2-2:00
EMO: VM0x2, VA3×7