Veterans help Virginia pull away in second half The individual matchup between Virginia senior Steele Stanwick and Maryland freshman Goran Murray was the Cavaliers and Terrapins in microcosm Saturday at Byrd Stadium.
Containing the veteran attack of No. 2 Virginia is hard enough. Trying to do it with three first-year starting defensemen complicates the chore. In a 12-8 victory over No. 9 Maryland, defending national champion Virginia used its star power and savvy as Stanwick scored three goals and distributed five assists.
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Virginia (9-1, 1-0 ACC) also got three goals from senior attack Chris Bocklet and two each from starting midfielders Colin Briggs, Matt White and Rob Emery. Down 7-5 early in the second half, the Cavaliers didn’t panic. They retaliated with seven of the game’s last eight goals over the final 21:14.
“We’re a much newer team than Virginia is,” Maryland coach John Tillman said. “When you have Stanwick and you have Bocklet down there, you’re pretty solid.”
Stanwick, who ranks second in the NCAA in career assists with 125, and Bocklet, who ranks third in career goals with 126, propelled a Virginia offense that was cool and efficient when it mattered most.
“They have guys who can score goals inside and outside,” said Maryland midfielder Landon Carr (one goal, one assist). “They’ve been playing together a long time now. They knew what they were doing.”
Maryland (5-3, 1-2) got two goals each from Joe Cummings and Michael Shakespeare. Their back-to-back tallies capped a 5-1 run that bridged the halves and featured stellar play from sophomore goalie Niko Amato (12 saves), who fueled two goals with quick outlet passes.
But Stanwick turned the momentum with an unassisted goal, then fed Emery 16 seconds into a man-up opportunity. When Briggs, the hero of last year’s Final Four run in Baltimore, scored unassisted early in the fourth period, Virginia had the lead for good.
“Your big boys in crunch time — you want to win at this level, that’s what you gotta have,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “Those guys stepped up for us when that game needed to be decided late.”
