No. 11 Virginia Wins 20-9 at Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. – The No. 11 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (3-2, 1-1 ACC) picked up a 20-9 victory against California (2-3, 0-2 ACC) on Saturday (March 1) at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif.

The Bears scored two goals in the first three minutes of the contest to take an early lead, but the Cavaliers took a 4-3 lead on a goal by senior attacker Kate Miller with 5:43 remaining in the opening quarter and never again trailed in the game.

Virginia broke open a 9-6 game by coming out of the halftime break and going on a 9-0 run in the third quarter to lead 18-6 heading into the final period of play.

Sophomore attacker Jenna DiNardo scored five goals. Sophomore midfielder Kate Galica scored three goals with a career-high 15 draw controls. Sophomore midfielder Madison Alaimo had five points with four assists and a goal.

FROM HEAD COACH SONIA LAMONICA

“A driving force for us right now is refusing to relax or get casual, especially when we have momentum. Rankings have little stock at this time of year and every play, every goal must be earned. Our team earned a great win today.”

NOTES

• Virginia had 10 different players score
• Virginia held a 35-15 edge in shots. 29 of Virginia’s 35 shots were on goal
• Virginia held a 15-2 edge in shots during the third quarter
• Cal scored with 7:52 remaining in the second quarter and then did not score again until 1:17 into the fourth quarter, with Virginia holding them scoreless for a span of 24:19
• Kate Galica’s 15 draw controls are the second-highest single-game total in program history. Katherina Maser holds the record with 16 in a game against Old Dominion on March 27, 1984
• Galica has had 12 or more draw controls in three of five games this season
• Jenna DiNardo’s five goals match her career high, which she also scored last year against James Madison (3/20/24)
• DiNardo has had a hat trick in four of five games this season
• DiNardo scored her five goals on six shots
• Freshmen Fiona Allen and Peyton Sfreddo both scored their first career goals
• Sfreddo scored twice in the game as did Kate Miller, Addi Foster and Lauren Pederson
• Finley Barger scored her first goal of the year
• Freshman midfielder Livy LaVerghetta had her first career points with an assist
• All three Cavalier goalkeepers saw time in the game. Mel Josephson started and earned the victory. She played 39:58, allowing six goals with two saves
• Abby Jansen played 13:11 in goal without facing a shot
• Sophomore goalkeeper Breese Burlingame played the final 6:51 of the game for her collegiate debut. She made her first career save in the final 90 seconds of the game

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers play at Richmond on Wednesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+