The start of the men’s lacrosse season was a bumpy one, as No. 6 Loyola lost to No. 14 Virginia 16-15 on Saturday, Feb. 11.
The first half is when Virginia did its damage against the sluggish Hounds. Virginia was extremely efficient in their play, clearing the ball from their defensive end, winning ground balls, and putting the ball on net for plentiful shots. Especially in the second period, Loyola’s defense could not stop Virginia.
For Loyola, the first half was defined by inconsistencies. When the offense was working, the defense let them down. When Loyola gat stops, the offense stalled.
Virginia rattled off four unanswered goals to end the second period, outshooting Loyola 24-16 at the half and took a 8-5 lead.
Virginia was able to extend their lead to as much as five, leading 10-5 with 7:50 left in the third period.
Loyola was able to climb out of its five-goal deficit by mimicking Virginia’s play from the first half: be more efficient than your opponent.
Loyola was able to force 12 Virginia turnovers and went a perfect 10-10 on their clears to chip away at the Virginia lead. Loyola tied the game at 10 when attacker Jared Mintzlaff ’18 buried a shot past Virginia goalie Will Railey ’18 with 12:57 left in the game.
Loyola’s coach Charley Toomey agrees that the third period was their best. “We ran a clean offense in the third [period], we got goals from that,” Toomey said.
The fourth quarter was up-tempo for each team. There were shots galore, and very short offensive possessions. Virginia capitalized on their chances while Loyola looked to be forcing things at times.
The goal of the game for Loyola was when attacker Zach Sirico ’17 went behind the back to score, tying the game at 14.
Virginia midfielder Dox Aitken ’20 had himself a day, scoring four goals and leading all scorers. Loyola’s leading point scorer on the day was midfielder Alex McGovern ’19, tallying five points with two goals and three assists.
Even though it’s February, Loyola’s student body was in mid-season form as they showed up in numbers to support the Hounds.
Even UVA’s Coach Lars Tiffany noticed the crowd. “What an atmosphere here at Ridley,” he said.
Loyola’s next game is on Feb. 18 against Johns Hopkins in the battle of Charles Street. That game will be at Hopkins’ Homewood Field and will be aired on espn3.com.
