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PRINCETON, NJVirginia scored four goals in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second half to break open a tight contest and defeat Princeton 12-10 in the rain at Princeton Stadium.
The game was an historic occasion for lacrosse as the first regular-season game televised on ESPN.
The win is the sixth in a row without a defeat for the third-ranked Cavaliers, while Princeton lost for the second week in a row to fall to 1-2 overall.
Brian Carroll paced the Cavalier offense with three goals and an assist to become the first UVa midfielder with at least six multi-goal games since David Curry had seven in in 1997. Ben Rubeor, coming off a knee injury in only his third game, also scored three times. Danny Glading continued his fine work directing the Virginia attack with two goals and two assists.
“I think it was a good win against a quality team in adverse conditions on the road,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “We’re still working through some things, but we played much harder and smarter in the second half and I’m glad we were able to take control of the game and get the W.”
Shamel Bratton opened the third quarter scoring a minute-and-a-half in with a nice dodge move to beat goalie Alex Hewit to give the Cavaliers a 7-5 lead. Carroll scored in front 22 seconds later and was followed by Glading’s wraparound at the 12:39 mark as Virginia extended the lead to 9-5.
Virginia’s lead grew to 10-5 on Carroll’s extra-man goal at the 11:43 mark of the third quarter. The goal was UVa’s first extra-man goal against Princeton in four years. Brian McDermott got three of his seven faceoff wins during the run as Virginia scored on four of five shots to double up the Tigers.
“(At halftime) we talked about picking the ball up off the ground,” said Starsia about his team’s second-half play. “I thought in the first half Princeton beat us to the ball consistently all over the field. I was really disappointed in our effort (and) I think we responded in the second half.”
Princeton scored three in a row over the next 7:43 to pull within 10-8, but Carroll’s third goal of the quarter gave the Cavaliers some breathing room heading into the fourth quarter.
Rubeor opened the final period with an extra-man goal to put UVa ahead 12-8. Bob Schneider notched his second of the game at the 8:58 mark and Mark Kovler’s fourth of the game with 2:07 left cut Virginia’s lead in half at 12-10. Alex Berg won the ensuing faceoff for Princeton but Adam Ghitelman made a terrific save of Dan Cocoziello’s shot to stop the Tigers’ momentum. Ghitelman finished with 12 saves, including nine in the first half.
The Cavaliers stay on the road with a game at Mount St. Mary’s Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Virginia 3-3-5-112 record: 6-0
Princeton 2-3-3-210 record: 1-2
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Scoring (G-A) V: Brian Carroll 3-1, Ben Rubeor 3-0, Danny Glading 2-2, Garrett Billings 1-1, Shamel Bratton 1-0, Brian McDermott 1-0, Mike Thompson 1-0, Will Barrow 0-1, Peter Lamade 0-1. P: Mark Kovler 4-0, Bob Schneider 2-0, Rob Engelke 1-0, Alex Haynie 1-0, Chris McBride 1-0, Jack McBride 1-0, Scott MacKenzie 0-2, Tommy Davis 0-1, Josh Lesko 0-1, Rich Sgalardi 0-1.
Goalie SummaryV: Adam Ghitelman 60 mins., 12 saves, 10 goals allowed. P: Alex Hewit 60 mins., 10 saves, 12 goals allowed
Shots: V41, P32
Ground Balls: V 24, P 25
Clearing: V 12×15, P 12×14
Faceoffs: V 9, P 16
Penalties: V 3-2:30, P 2-2:00
EMO: V 2×2, P 2×3