For the third time in his career, Steele Stanwick notched a career-high eight points for No. 3 Virginia (9-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) as the Cavaliers defeated No. 9 Maryland (5-3, 1-2 ACC) on Saturday.
Stanwick, the senior attacker, got to work early in the contest by setting up two of his teammates for the first two goals of the game to give UVA the 2-0 advantage with seven minutes, four seconds left in the first quarter.
The Terrapins answered back at the 4:37 mark of the first quarter with a goal from junior midfielder John Haus to cut the deficit to 2-1. But UVA had a flair for the dramatics and managed to find the back of the net with two seconds left in the first frame from a goal by senior attacker Chris Bocklet as he extended the Cavaliers lead to 3-1 after the first quarter.
Maryland came out firing in the second quarter, as it outscored UVA by a 4-2 margin to tie the game up at 5-5 at halftime.
The Terrapins continued to find success in the opening of the third quarter, as they found their first lead after back-to-back unassisted goals by senior midfielders Joe Cummings and Michael Shakespeare to give them a 7-5 lead.
But the Cavaliers responded well, and squashed the Terrapins hopes as they went on a deafening 4-0 run that essentially decided the game. UVA managed to close the game out with a 3-1 advantage, which gave it the 12-8 victory.
The Cavaliers play next in Chapel Hill, N.C., against North Carolina this Saturday while Maryland plays next at home against Navy on Friday night.
Lehigh escapes
After trailing early, 4-1, to No. 19 Navy, No. 7 Lehigh (10-1, 3-0) led a dominant comeback to win, 9-4, on Friday. The win marks a program record ninth-straight win.
The Mountain Hawks scored the first goal of the game, but that was the only positive for Lehigh in the first quarter, as the Midshipmen (5-4, 3-2 Patriot League) scored three goals by the end of the quarter to go ahead, 3-1.
Navy scored again in the second quarter at the 12:02 mark giving it a 4-1 lead. But the Mountain Hawks defense clamped down as the offense bolstered. Lehigh closed out the first half with two more goals and simultaneously shut down the Midshipmen attack and the Mountain Hawks only trailed 4-3 going into halftime.
The Lehigh momentum continued in the second half in an emphatic way as it ended up scoring six unanswered goals to coast to a dominating 9-4 win.
The Mountain Hawks are back in action in against Colgate this Saturday while Navy plays next at Maryland on Friday night.
Irish take 6th-straight
No. 6 Notre Dame led a devastating attack and scored a season-high number of goals as it coasted by St. John’s, 13-6, on Saturday.
The victory was not always apparent for the Fighting Irish (7-1, 2-0 Big East), however, as the Red Storm led 4-3 at halftime. But Notre Dame overcame the deficit in the second half with a vengeance.
The Fighting Irish maintained a 7-5 lead by the end of the third quarter and the game remained relatively close going into the last stretch, where the onslaught ensued.
Notre Dame scored six unanswered goals to start the fourth, which wrapped up the win for the Irish. St. Johns managed to notch another goal, but it was meaningless, as Notre Dame went on to win, 13-6.
The Fighting Irish play again against Providence this Saturday while the Red Storm are back in action in Washington, D.C., against Georgetown on Saturday.
Matt Levine can be reached at [email protected].
