The fourth-ranked men’s lacrosse team dominated the visiting No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers 17-9 at the Ridley Athletic Complex to start the season 1-0 on Saturday. The matchup featured what will likely be two of the most high-powered offenses in the country, and Loyola has lived up to that prediction in only  one game.

Loyola’s attack unit of Pat Spencer ‘19, Kevin Lindley ‘21, and Aidan Olmstead ‘21 led the way for the offense. Spencer and Lindley had five goals apiece, and Olmstead scored twice along with two assists. Midfielders John Duffy ‘19, Alex McGovern ‘19, and Peter Swindell ‘20 each had a goal, and newcomer Chase Scanlan ‘22 scored the first two goals of his Loyola career.

While the defense held strong in keeping Virginia in single digits, the Cavs still outshot the Hounds 45-40. That being said, Loyola owes much of its defensive success to goalie Jacob Stover ‘19, with 18 spectacular saves. Bailey Savio ‘21 had a solid performance at the faceoff X, going 15-28 and scooping up five ground balls.

Loyola took an early lead with a strong opening quarter from Spencer, who had two goals and an assist after 15 minutes of play. Duffy and McGovern found the back of the net early, a good sign for the Hounds’ midfield. Virginia had to feel lucky to only be down 5-3 as two of their first quarter goals were in man-up situations.

Lindley scored unassisted early into the second quarter, and Scanlan scored the first goal of his collegiate career just three minutes later. Olmstead tacked on his first goal as the defense held strong on the other end, making the score 8-4 at halftime.

Spencer opened up the second half with two more quick goals, totaling four by this time. Virginia responded with two goals of their own, but Loyola’s attack would not be denied. Olmstead added his second goal, and Lindley completed his hat trick to finish off the quarter and give his team a 12-7 lead.

Spencer once again started the quarter on a high note, scoring his fifth goal with 12:10 to go. Just seconds later, Scanlan scored his second, firing up the Loyola bench. A brief altercation involving Swindell near the Virginia bench got the crowd back on their feet. The Hounds fed off the energy as Swindell scored and Lindley added his fourth to make the score 16-8 with eight minutes left. Virginia scored less than a minute later to keep their hopes alive, but Lindley wasn’t having it. He scored his fifth goal of the day at 4:25 to put the nail in the coffin and make the final score 17-9.

While the Hounds got off to a good start, they can’t dwell on this win for long. They face another top-10 opponent next Saturday, Feb. 16, as they travel up the street to Homewood Field to face Johns Hopkins for the Battle of Charles Street.

Feature image courtesy of Craig Chase