No. 12 UVA Women's Lacrosse Uses Big 2nd Half to Beat Louisville 19-9

The Cavaliers outscored the Cardinals 13-3 in the second half to win the ACC opener on Saturday at Klockner Stadium

Just one goal separated these two teams in each of their last two meetings, with the Cavaliers coming away with the one-goal win over the Cardinals both times. Through the first 30 minutes of this contest, it seemed that the Virginia and Louisville women's lacrosse teams were destined for another tight finish as UVA trailed for most of the first half and the game was tied 6-6 at halftime. 

Instead, the Cavaliers delivered a dominant second half, outscoring the Cardinals 13-3 after halftime as No. 12 Virginia rolled to a 19-9 victory over No. 23 Louisville in the ACC opener on Saturday afternoon at Klockner Stadium. 

The Cavaliers are no strangers to slow starts this season, trailing at the end of the first quarter in two of their first three games. Saturday's home opener on a cold and rainy afternoon in Charlottesville continued that trend, as Virginia trailed by as many as three goals in the first half. Louisville controlled possession for most of the first quarter, winning five of the seven draw controls leading to a 14-5 shots advantage in the opening period. UVA turned the ball over six times in the first quarter and scored just two goals on free positions, while Louisville found the back of the net four times in the first quarter despite Virginia goalkeeper Ashley Vernon making five saves to keep things close. 

Louisville scored to make it 5-2 early in the second quarter, but Virginia responded by closing the half on a 4-1 run to tie the game at 6-6 going into halftime. Jaime Biskup scored back-to-back goals during that run to help UVA pull even. 

After turning the ball over 11 times in the first half, the Cavaliers took much better care of the ball in the second half, committing just four total turnovers after halftime. Exercising more patience on the offensive end, Virginia was able to dissect the Louisville defense and turn the game around. UVA opened the third quarter on a 4-0 run, with Mackenzie Hoeg scoring twice followed by goals from Ashlyn McGovern and Rachel Clark. 

Louisville answered back with a couple of goals, but then it became the Rachel Clark show. Clark scored an unassisted goal to close the third quarter with UVA leading 11-8. Mackenzie Hoeg scored off a feed from Morgan Schwab to open the fourth and then Rachel Clark scored two more unassisted goals to put the Cavaliers up by six. Clark scored once more in the fourth quarter and finished with seven goals in the game. Through the first four games of the season, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year has already scored 13 goals and Clark has increased her single-game goal total in each contest so far. 

Louisville virtually never had the ball in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers won each of the 10 draw controls in the final period. Aubrey Williams had eight draw controls for UVA and Devon Whitaker added five. Virginia outscored Louisville 8-1 in the fourth quarter and turned what was a tie game at halftime into a convincing 19-9 blowout by the final buzzer. 

Rachel Clark led Virginia with seven goals on ten shots and Ashlyn McGovern added four goals. Mackenzie Hoeg and Jaime Biskup each had a hat trick and Morgan Schwab recorded one goal and two assists. Ashley Vernon weathered the storm of shots she faced early in the game and ended up going .500 as she allowed nine goals and made nine saves. 

Virginia has simply been incredible in the second half so far this season. Through the first four games, the Cavaliers have outscored their opponents 43-18 after halftime. While head coach Julie Myers would probably like to see her team get off to better starts so that these big second halves aren't as necessary, she has to be pleased with the way the Cavaliers have responded coming out of halftime so far this year. 

Now 4-0 on the season, Virginia remains at home and will face Clemson for the first time ever as the Tigers are playing their first season at the NCAA Division I level. UVA hosts Clemson on Friday at 5pm at Klockner Stadium. 

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