Cormier's Record Day Powers Virginia to 17-11 Win Over St. Joe's in First Round

Matt Newton | May 11, 2024

Payton Cormier and Connor Shellenberger celebrate after Cormier scored during the Virginia men's lacrosse game against St. Joe's in the first round of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship at Klockner Stadium. / Virginia Athletics

Have yourself a day, Payton Cormier.

Virginia's losing streak is finally over and it only took one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament.

Payton Cormier scored eight goals, the most ever scored by a Cavalier in an NCAA Tournament game and one shy of the NCAA record, breaking the NCAA's all-time record for most career goals and the Virginia program record for most goals in a season. But most importantly, his extraordinary effort sparked No. 6 Virginia (11-5) to end its four-game losing streak with a 17-11 victory over Saint Joseph's (12-4) in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday afternoon at Klockner Stadium.

Cormier came into the day needing seven goals to tie and eight goals to break Mac O'Keefe's NCAA career scoring record of 221 goals. The hope for Cormier was that he could get close to that mark on Saturday and then surpass it next week in the quarterfinals, should the Cavaliers advance. Instead, he blasted past the record in one go and is now the NCAA's all-time leading scorer with 222 career goals.

The first goal of the game went to St. Joe's, as Colin Reich beat Matthew Nunes 62 seconds into the contest. UVA responded with three-straight goals, with Griffin Schutz, Cormier, and Joey Terenzi each finding the back of the net. The opening period was a back-and-forth affair, though, as the Hawks scored the next two goals to tie things up.

Schutz scored on an extra man and Connor Shellenberger scored his first goal of the game to make it 5-3. Jesse Jason fired back for St. Joe's, but then Boyden found Cormier on the right wing for another goal to give Virginia a 6-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Nunes made four saves in the first quarter, but he was consistently under duress due to UVA's struggles to clear the ball. The Cavaliers failed four of their seven clear attempts in the first quarter and three of the Hawks' four goals in the opening period came following a failed Virginia clear.

UVA cleaning up its clear game was a key to what became a big second quarter. The Cavaliers didn't commit a single turnover and went a perfect 6/6 on clears, while also winning five of the seven faceoff draws in the second period. That possession advantage allowed Virginia to seize control, getting three more goals from Cormier and one apiece from Jack Boyden and Ryan Colsey as the Cavaliers won the period 5-2 to take an 11-6 lead into the halftime break.

Needing three goals to break the scoring record, Cormier picked up right where he left off in the second half, scoring twice in the first two minutes of the third quarter. Fittingly, it was the man responsible for assisting on the majority on Cormier's career goals who assisted on the record-breaker. On a man-up opportunity with a little less than eight minutes to go, Connor Shellenberger found Cormier in his patented spot on the right wing and Cormier buried a low-to-low shot for his 222nd career goal, most in the history of NCAA men's lacrosse.

THE ALL-TIME GOALS RECORD IN MEN'S LACROSSE!#GoHoos🔸⚔️🔹 | ESPN U pic.twitter.com/iHpTC2QKT2

— Virginia Men's Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) May 11, 2024

Virginia again won the quarter 5-2, extending its lead to 16-8 heading to the fourth quarter. With the game in hand, the Cavaliers took their foot off the gas in the fourth as St. Joe's tallied a few goals to make the final score 17-11.

Cormier scored 8 goals on 15 shots, giving him 222 goals for his career and 63 for the season, breaking Xander Dickson's UVA single-season record of 61 goals from a season ago. His eight goals were the most scored in a single NCAA Tournament game in school history, surpassing the previous record of six goals which he and Connor Shellenberger both matched during the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Shellenberger had six points on two goals and four assists and Griffin Schutz had two goals. Jack Boyden had a goal and two assists and McCabe Millon had one goal and one assist. LSM Ben Wayer had two assists in addition to eight ground balls and four caused turnovers.

Matthew Nunes finished at 50% on the day, making 11 saves and allowing 11 goals. Anthony Ghobriel went 12/23 at the faceoff X and Thomas Colucci went 5/8, allowing Virginia to win the draw 17-14.

With the win, Virginia advances to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fifth-consecutive tournament and will take on the winner of No. 3 Johns Hopkins and Lehigh on Sunday, May 19th at either 12pm or 2:30pm at Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland. The winner of that game will advance to Championship Weekend.