No. 3 Virginia Cruises Past No. 8 Michigan, 19-11

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (1-0) never trailed in Saturday afternoon’s (Feb. 10) season opener, a 19-11 win over No. 8 Michigan (0-1) in front of nearly 4,000 fans at Klöckner Stadium.

Nine Cavaliers found the back of the net, including Payton Cormier and first-year attackman McCabe Millon, both of whom tallied five goals each. Cormier also added an assist to lead all players with six points. Jack Boyden, a newcomer in the midfield, also tallied five points on two goals and three assists.

Anthony Ghobriel (15-23) and Thomas Colucci (6-8) combined to win 21 of the game’s 32 total faceoffs. John Schroter (5gb, 3ct), George Fulton (4gb, 1ct) and long-stick midfielder Ben Wayer (5gb) led the effort for the Hoos defensively. Goalie Matthew Nunes (1-0) made 13 saves in 54 minutes of action to earn the win.

Virginia had just one failed clear on the day, while the Wolverines turned the ball over on five of their 20 total attempts.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cavaliers scored the first three goals of the game, the very first was by Joey Terenzi on an assist from Schroter. After Connor Shellenberger (2g) scored Virginia’s second goal, Millon capped the 3-0 UVA run with his first collegiate score. Virginia led 5-1 at the end of the first.

Millon notched a hat trick just a little over five minutes into the second period. His fourth goal of the game was the final of the first half, at which point the Hoos led 10-3. Two of the Wolverines’ first-half goals came on a pair of man-up opportunities.

Boyden and Shellenberger kicked off the scoring in the second half. Michigan registered back-to-back goals for the first time of the day toward the middle of quarter No. 3. UVA’s best scoring run came in the third with goals from Will Cory, Griffin Schutz, and Cormier twice. The Hoos more than doubled up U-M by the end of the third, 17-8. Colucci dominated the faceoff X in period No. 3, winning five of his six draws.

Boyden and Millon scored UVA’s only two goals of the fourth, while the Wolverines netted three. Backup netminder Kyle Morris made his collegiate debut, relieving Nunes with 5:47 to play.

FROM HEAD COACH LARS TIFFANY

On McCabe Millon’s performance…
“What a fantastic performance by a first year… McCabe recognized that he had a matchup he could win, and this is who we are at Virginia lacrosse. We try to take away the playing with fear. Go out and be loose and be yourself. We attract ball players like McCabe. Hey, look you might make a bunch of mistakes there, it’s okay, next play. Boy, he just kept making that next play, didn’t he?”

On today’s faceoff play…
“The key here was what happened in the faceoff. Justin Wietfeldt, Michigan’s faceoff man, is exceptional and for Anthony Ghobriel to come in and do what he did, to win the ball, and in our wing play, whether it was Ben Wayer, Joey Terenzi, or the rest of them, that was tremendous in having possession and giving our offense more shots.”

WITH THE WIN…

• The Cavaliers improved to 2-0 in the all-time series against Michigan. The two teams also squared off in last year’s season opener.
• UVA won its fifth consecutive season opener.
• Lars Tiffany improved to 7-1 in season openers as UVA head coach.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• McCabe Millon and Payton Cormier finished with a game-high five goals apiece.
• Now with 164 career goals, Cormier needs just two more to shatter Doug Knight’s all-time program record (165).
• The eighth-ranked Wolverines marked Virginia’s highest-ranked opponent in a season opener since 2019, when the Cavaliers faced then-No. 4 Loyola.
• Virginia won the faceoff battle, 21-11.
• UVA was 25 for 26 on its clear attempts, while the Wolverines were 15 for 20.
• The Cavaliers won the ground ball battle, 44-31.
• Virginia recorded an attendance figure of 3,969

UP NEXT
The Cavaliers travel to Richmond (1-1) on Saturday (Feb. 17). Opening faceoff from Robins Stadium is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.