Shellenberger & Cormier Lift Virginia Lacrosse Over Towson 19-15
On a rainy, cold day in Maryland, No.5 Virginia men's lacrosse closed its busy Spring break schedule with a 19-15 win over Towson. Similar to last year against the Tigers, the Cavaliers only led by one goal early in the third quarter before the Virginia offense came to life. This time around it was a nine-goal run that carried into the fourth quarter that gave the Cavaliers a dominant lead, allowing them to win by a comfortable margin.
Towson set the tone in the opening stages, scoring two quick goals to begin the back-and-forth first half. Offensively, Virginia was sloppy to start before Griffin Schutz sparked a two-goal run.
At the faceoff x, despite the return of Anthony Ghobriel, Towson won 4 of the first seven at the stripe, helping the Tigers jump out to a 5-2 lead. Ghobriel would finish 13/26 in his return from injury.
In need of a response, Connor Shellenberger scored a solo goal from a dodge behind x, igniting a four-goal run for the Cavaliers. Two of the goals came in fast-break situations, demonstrating Virginia’s proficiency in the transition game.
To close the first quarter, Towson won the draw and scored a goal just before the buzzer to knot the game at six, diminishing Virginia’s momentum. The momentum carried into the second quarter, with Towson retaking the lead as the Tigers continued to lead the faceoff battle.
Turning to their quarterback tandem, Shellenberger and McCabe Millon scored as Virginia jumped out to a 9-7 lead. The up-and-down action continued with Towson netting two goals before Jack Boyden scored, giving Virginia a 10-9 lead at the half.
Connor Shellenberger led the Cavaliers in the first half with two goals and three assists. Defensively, it was a frustrating first half, allowing nine goals, the most Virginia has allowed in a first half this season.
To open the second half, Towson scored before Shellenberger found Cormier for a goal. After that, both teams struggled for a few minutes to break through as Matthew Nunes picked up two saves to hold the lead for Virginia.
The Cavaliers then put the pedal down, scoring five straight goals, including a goal with two seconds remaining by Cormier to give Virginia a commanding 16-10 lead entering the fourth quarter. Cormier scored four of Virginia’s five goals in the third.
In the fourth, Cormier continued to find nylon, burying his sixth and seventh goal of the day while igniting a three-goal run in the fourth, adding to Virginia’s run from the third as the Cavaliers seized control of the contest.
While Cormier buried goals, Shellenberger dealt as the graduate student from Charlottesville had four assists in the second half.
To close the game, Towson responded with a five-goal run as Virginia took their foot off the gas, with the Cavaliers' lead being too large to overcome as Virginia earned a 19-15 win over Towson.
Offensively, Connor Shellenberger led the way with three goals and seven assists, demonstrating his masterful vision. Of those assists, four were to Payton Cormier, who had seven goals and two assists. McCabe Millon had three goals and an assist to round out the attack unit.
With seven assists against Towson, Shellenberger became Virginia’s all-time assist leader for Virginia men’s lacrosse with Morgan Schwab coincidentally breaking the same record for the women in a 12-10 win over No. 4 Notre Dame in a game that was going on simultaneously on Saturday.
Defensively, Chase Yager had a career-high four caused turnovers, while Joey Terenzi and Ben Wayer both scooped up six ground balls to lead the team. Wayer also added two goals in transition on four shots.
In net, Matthew Nunes had nine saves while Kyle Morris, in his hometown, had four saves, which included a save on a man-down, substituting for the penalized Nunes.
With the busy Spring break schedule in the rearview, No. 5 Virginia (5-1) will rest before preparing for a showdown with No. 7 Maryland on the road on Saturday, March 16th at 3pm.
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