No. 7 Virginia Drops ACC Opener to No. 14 Stanford

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The No. 7 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (2-1, 0-1 ACC) suffered its first defeat of the season after a 13-7 loss to No. 14 Stanford (4-0, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22) at Klöckner Stadium.

Sophomore attackers Madison Alaimo (1g, 2a) and Jenna Dinardo (2g) led Virginia offensively. A total of six different Cavaliers found the back of the net including Alaimo, Dinardo, Addi Foster (1g), Kate Miller (1g, 1a), Abby Manalang (1g, 1a), and Lauren Pederson (1g).

Mel Josephson made seven saves in cage while collecting six ground balls. Dinardo led the team with three caused turnovers while Nicole Cruthirds recorded a pair as well.

How it Happened
Led by a pair from Dinardo, Virginia scored the first three goals of the game. However, Stanford converted on free-position and extra-player opportunities to cut the Cavalier lead down to 3-2 going into the second quarter.

Stanford extended its scoring run to six consecutive goals netting the first four of the second quarter to take a 6-3 lead. Foster and Manalang each converted a pair of free-position opportunities in the closing moments of the half as Virginia went into the locker room trailing by a score of 6-5.

The Cavaliers knotted the score at 6-6 with the opening goal of the second half. Stanford responded scoring seven unanswered goals with a run that spanned the majority of the third and fourth quarters. The Cardinal limited Virginia to just three shots in the second half to hand Virginia its first loss of the season.

From Head Coach Sonia LaMonica
“I thought our defense had some great stops when we had players down. Ten cards on our side today hurts. Offensively, we were just out of sync and out of rhythm. It was definitely not indicative of the group we have. So, we are feeling a little frustrated about that, but I’m confident we are going to bounce back and we are going to learn from it.”

Game Notes

• Virginia falls to 5-1 in the all-time series with Stanford
• UVA was outshot 27-14 on the day and was limited to just three shots in the second half
• Each of Stanford’s first eight goals were scored of extra-player or free-position opportunities
• Stanford went 4-for-6 on free position opportunities
• The Cavaliers were shown 10 cards in the game (6 green, 4 yellow)
• Stanford received four cards (2 green, 2 yellow)
• The Cavaliers were edged 14-9 on draw controls
• Jenna Dinardo has scored multiple goals in every game this season and marks the 14^th multi-goal game of her career
• Madison Alaimo has scored at least one goal and two assists in each game this season and marks the 10^th multi-assist game of her career

Up Next:
The Cavaliers are back in action on Wednesday (Feb. 26) when the team hosts Navy. First draw at Klöckner Stadium is set for 5 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).