Virginia Suffers 15-14 Defeat Against Syracuse

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The No. 9 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (9-2, 3-2 ACC) battled the No. 7 Syracuse Orange (7-3, 5-0 ACC) on Saturday afternoon (March 23), in a game that featured nine ties and three lead changes. The Cavaliers ultimately fell by a score of 15-14 at Klöckner Stadium.

A five-goal performance from Katia Carnevale (5g) topped the stat sheet for Virginia. Kiki Shaw (2g) and Mackenzie Hoeg (2g) led the charge of eight total scorers, including Kate Miller (1g, 4a), Kate Galica (1g) Maggie Bostain (1g) Jenna Dinardo (1g), and Maddison Alaimo (1g, 2a).

As a team, Virginia won the turnover battle turning the ball over on 13 occasions compared to 16 from the Orange. A total of seven Cavaliers recorded caused turnovers including Miller and Galica who combined for six draw controls and three ground balls between them.

How it Happened
The Cavaliers started the first quarter strong with a save on the doorstep from goalie Mel Josephson. Carnevale and Hoeg brought Virginia out to an early 2-0 lead. After letting up a short-handed goal, Carnevale put away a feed from Kate Miller to keep the momentum in Virginia’s favor. Dinardo and Galica each scored as the Cavaliers looked to pull away from the Orange halfway through the first quarter. Syracuse capitalized on power-play situations to trim the Cavalier to 5-4 at the first quarter break.

Syracuse put one away to even the score early in the second quarter to tie the game at 5-5. An important save from Josephson on a free-position attempt led the way for Shaw to bury a goal in the bottom left corner to restore the Virginia lead. Both sides continued to trade goals with Alaimo and Carnevale finding the back of the net. Bostain scored her second goal of the season, running coast-to-coast to put the Cavaliers ahead by one. A free-position goal for the Orange evened the score at 9-9 going into halftime.

Syracuse took their first lead of the game off the opening draw of the second half. Hoeg made the most of a long defensive stop for the Cavaliers finding the back of the net knot things back up before Miller restored the lead just minutes later. The teams traded a pair of goals going into the fourth quarter with Virginia taking a 13-12 advantage into the final period.

Virginia wasted no time as Katia Carnevale scored in the first eight seconds of the fourth quarter. A big save from Josephson shut down a doorstep attempt for the Orange, keeping the Cavaliers in front by one. Syracuse tied the game for the ninth time before pulling ahead by one. Virginia was able to kill off a one-minute minute penalty to set up an opportunity to tie the game with less than a minute to play, but were unable to convert.

From Head Coach Sonia LaMonica:
“This team just continues to battle from quarter to quarter. Credit to Syracuse they really played us so tough today. I think it was a really great battle and that will make us stronger for sure. This was our toughest game yet this season so credit to Syracuse. Our team kept fighting and it really did come down to the wire. It is a bump in the road, but we will move forward.”

Additional Notes

• Katia Carnevale led the Cavaliers with five goals marking her sixth game with four or more goals
• Carnevale has now scored a point in 20 consecutive games dating back to last season (3/29/23)
• Maggie Bostain led the Cavaliers with four ground balls on the day
• The game featured a total of nine ties and three lead changes
• The Cavaliers won the ground ball battle scooping up 17 compared to Syracuse’s 13
• Virginia won the turnover battle by a margin of 13-16

Up Next:
The Cavaliers will hit the road next Saturday (March 30) as Virginia travels to Durham, N.C. for another ACC matchup with Duke. First draw is set for 1 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium.