Slow Start, Late Woes Stymie Cavaliers in 13-10 loss to Richmond

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 4 Virginia (1-1) surrendered the first four goals of the game and made critical errors down the stretch to help No. 20 Richmond (2-1) claim its second win of the series with the Cavaliers. In wet and cold conditions Saturday afternoon (Feb. 15) at Klöckner Stadium, the Spiders toppled UVA, 13-10, which marked the Hoos’ first loss at Klöckner Stadium in nearly a full calendar year. 

Virginia was sloppy in the clear, turning the ball over on seven of its 25 attempts, but both teams finished with 19 turnovers each. 

Spider attackman Lucas Littlejohn scored a game-high four goals, including the game-winner, on four shots and dished out one assist. UofR goalie Zach Vigue (2-1), the Atlantic 10 Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, earned the win after stopping 14 Cavalier shots. 

For the Hoos, Ryan Colsey (2g, 1a), McCabe Millon (1g, 3a) and Ben Wayer (2g) all recorded multi-point efforts. UVA netminder Kyle Morris (1-1) finished with 13 saves and surrendered 12 goals in 58:25 of action. Faceoff specialist Andrew Greenspan finished with a career-high six faceoff wins, including four in the fourth quarter, and netted his first career goal. Close defenseman John Schroter kept the Spiders’ star attackman Aidan O’Neil (1g, 1a, 7 shots) at bay. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
With the help of a strong effort on the ground, the Spiders scored the first four goals within the opening five minutes of the game.  UofR finished the first period with 12 ground balls while, UVA only managed seven. The Cavaliers started to settle in after killing a Spider extra-man opportunity and Jack Walshe’s unassisted goal put the Hoos on the board. The Spiders led 6-2 at the end of the first. 

UVA defenseman Griffin Kology was charged with his second penalty of the game with just under 11 minutes to play in the first half. A few minutes later, Millon blew past his defender from X and buried his third goal of the season, which marked his 20th consecutive game with at least one point. After the goal, Millon was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the Hoos’ man-down unit killed their third penalty of the half. After surrendering 19 shots in the first half, the UVA defense held the Spiders off the scoreboard in the second period, but UofR led 6-3 at the break. Morris tallied 10 of his 13 total saves in the first half. 

The Cavaliers trimmed the Richmond lead to as little as two [8-6] in the third with the help of goals from Truitt Sunderland (1g), Joey Terenzi (1g) and Colsey. Millon exited the game briefly after falling awkwardly upon firing off a shot. UVA killed off its fifth penalty in the third, but its man-up unit failed to score on two opportunities.  

Millon was spotted sprinting out of the locker in between the third and fourth quarters, but the Spiders scored the first two goals of the quarter less than 70 seconds in to grasp their largest lead [11-6] of the contest. Richmond’s first strike of the fourth came after a Millon shot was saved but ricocheted behind the mid-line. The Cavaliers whiffed on the ground ball, allowing the Spiders to make two quick passes and score an easy goal in transition. Minutes later, goals from Wayer and Greenspan cut the UofR lead back to three [11-8]. Virginia was whistled for offsides twice – with possession – in the fourth, which hindered its ability create much-needed scoring chances late in the game. 

Two more goals from Wayer and midfielder Griffin Schutz (1g) once again trimmed the Spiders’ lead to two [12-10] with less than two minutes to play. After Schutz’s fourth goal of the season, UofR won the ensuing faceoff and called timeout after 50 seconds ticked off the clock. Coming out of the timeout, the Hoos opted to double team the ball while leaving the cage unattended. As soon as play resumed, Spider midfielder Max Merklinger fired a perfect shot that landed in the net with 44 seconds left, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Cavaliers. 

NOTES 

• Virginia’s man-down unit held the Spiders scoreless on all six of their extra-man opportunities.  

• With his first goal of the game in the second quarter, McCabe Millon tallied his 20th consecutive game with a point. 

• Millon also tied his career high of three assists for the sixth time of his career. 

• Kyle Morris’ 10 saves in the first half are the most in a first half by a UVA goalie since Matthew Nunes accomplished that same against Notre Dame in the 2023 NCAA Tournament semifinal. 

• UVA LSM Ben Wayer logged his second consecutive game with two goals. 

• Andrew Greenspan won a career-high six faceoffs, four of which were in the fourth quarter. 

• Greenspan also scored his first career goal off a faceoff win in the fourth quarter. 

• The loss marked UVA’s first at home since falling to then-No. 7 Johns Hopkins [16-14] on March 2, 2024. 

• Richmond’s win is its second in series history and first-ever in Charlottesville. The series began in 2014, the Spiders’ inaugural season. 

UP NEXT
Virginia will have two days of rest before hosting High Point (2-1) on Tuesday (Feb. 18). Opening faceoff from Klöckner Stadium is set for 5 p.m., on ACC Network Extra and WINA (1070-AM/98.9-FM).  TICKETS 

The Panthers defeated Robert Morris, 17-11, Saturday afternoon in High Point, N.C.