Virginia Women's Lacrosse Holds Off Princeton 14-12 to Remain Unbeaten

What's the verdict on the Sonia LaMonica era of Virginia women's lacrosse through the first three games? So far, so good.

No. 16 Virginia improved to 3-0 on the season with a 14-12 victory over Princeton on Saturday afternoon at Klockner Stadium.

Virginia jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held a 4-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter behind goals from four different scorers. UVA led by as many as four in the second quarter, but Princeton scored three of the next four goals. Katia Carnevale scored her second goal in the final minute of the half to give Virginia an 8-5 lead at halftime.

The Cavaliers scored the first three goals of the second half, with Jenna Dinardo, Madison Alaimo and Mackenzie Hoeg finding the back of the net to stretch UVA's lead to 11-5 less than three minutes into the third quarter. Princeton answered with a pair of goals, but Alaimo scored again to give Virginia a 12-7 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Tigers blitzed the Cavaliers with 11 shots in the final frame, nine of which went on goal. Five of those shots found the back of the net, but Mel Josephson saved the other four to preserve UVA's lead. Grace Tauckus scored twice in the final five minutes of the game, the second goal coming with a little over a minute to go to cut the deficit to two goals, but it was too little, too late for Princeton, and Virginia held on for the 14-12 win.

UVA outshot Princeton 35-30 for the game, but the Tigers had more shots on goal (24) than the Cavaliers (21). The key difference for Virginia was an edge in cage provided by Mel Josephson, who continued the strong start to her career, posting 12 saves for the third time in as many games, and finishing with a .500 save percentage. Morgan Schwab had six points on two goals and four assists to lead the Cavaliers and Katia Carnevale and Kiki Shaw each had hat tricks.

Up next, Virginia remains at home to host No. 6 North Carolina on Friday at 5pm at Klockner Stadium.

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