No. 1 Syracuse Pulls Away for 21-9 Win Over No. 11 UVA Women's Lacrosse

The Cavaliers went punch for punch with the top-ranked and undefeated Orange through the first 20 minutes of the game, but they weren't able to hold off the offensive onslaught after that as No. 1 Syracuse outscored UVA 13-3 in the second and third quarters and pulled away for a 21-9 victory over the No. 11 Virginia women's lacrosse team on Saturday night at the JMA Wireless Dome. 

UVA's chances of keeping up with Syracuse hinged largely on gaining an advantage in possessions by winning the majority of draw controls as the Cavaliers came into the game ranked inside the top ten nationally in draw controls per game. Instead, the Orange dominated that category 21-11, giving an already unstoppable Syracuse offense the extra possessions it needed to take control. 

Despite losing the draw control battle 6-3 in the opening period, UVA stayed within striking distance thanks to a pair of first-quarter goals by Rachel Clark and two saves from Ashley Vernon. But it was a rough night in cage for Vernon, who allowed seven goals versus just the two saves before getting pulled from the game midway through the second quarter. Vernon's replacement Abby Jansen didn't fare much better, allowing 14 goals to seven saves for the remainder of the game. 

Back-to-back goals from Rachel Clark and Mackenzie Hoeg gave the Cavaliers their first and only lead late in the opening period, but Syracuse scored two goals in the final minute to take a 5-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The Orange continued that run to start the second quarter, scoring four of the first five goals of the quarter. Ashlyn McGovern and Jaime Biskup found the back of the net for Virginia, but Meaghan Tyrrell and Megan Carney each scored twice for Syracuse, who outscored UVA 7-2 in the second period to open up a 12-6 halftime lead. 

The game was never close after that as Syracuse won the third quarter 6-1 and the fourth 3-2 and cruised to the 21-9 win. 

Ashlyn McGovern had a hat trick and Rachel Clark scored twice, but only four other Cavaliers scored a goal in the game. Morgan Schwab had one goal and five assists for Virginia, which had just 14 shots on goal as compared to 30 shots on goal for Syracuse. Meaghan Tyrrell led the Orange with six goals and three assists and Emma Ward had ten points on four goals and six assists. Megan Carney added four goals. 

Virginia committed 16 turnovers and 37 fouls, exacerbating Syracuse's possession advantage and leading directly to the blowout loss. 

With the loss, Virginia falls to 8-4 overall and 4-2 in ACC play. UVA will look to bounce back this week with a road game against VCU on Wednesday at 4pm in Richmond. 

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