Virginia Lacrosse Beats Loyola, 13-12

With 28.8 seconds to play in a one-goal game, Loyola's Nikko Pontrello airmailed a pass out of bounds to kill the Greyhounds' comeback hopes. A desperate scramble ensued on the clear, Loyola couldn't get a shot off before the clock reached all zeros, and Virginia left the Ridley Athletic Complex with an important season-opening victory.

Midfielder Greg Coholan led the way for Virginia (1-0) with 4 goals and an assist. Zed Williams added three more goals for the Hoos, and his two assists tied Ryan Lukacovic's two to lead the Cavaliers. Goalie Matt Barrett finished the day with nine saves on 21 shots on goal—a save percentage of .429.

Romar Dennis and Zach Herreweyers each had three goals to pace Loyola (0-1).

Graham Savio dominated the faceoff X for the Greyhounds, winning better than 75 percent of the draws. That dominance led to the first goal of the game, a Ryan Fournier tally only 7 seconds into the game and the season. Virginia's first goal came two minutes later by Ryan Tucker, and the first quarter ended with the game tied at 3.

The teams stayed neck-and-neck through the second quarter. Pontrello opened the scoring with a goal at 12:32, but Coholan found Owen Van Arsdale with 3:21 left in the half to tie the game at 6 apiece.

Van Arsdale's goal sparked a 5-0 Virginia run that stretched well into the third quarter. Lukacovic's goal at 6:32 in the third turned a 6-5 first-half deficit into a 10-6 second-half lead. Herreweyers scored for Loyola with 2:04 left in the game but the Greyhounds would get no closer.

Virginia returns to Charlottesville to open the home schedule against Drexel on Saturday, February 14th. Loyola plays the same day at home against Penn State.