TOWSON, Md. – Sophomore attackman Chris Bocklet (John Jay H.S./South Salem, N.Y.) scored a season-high four goals to lead top-ranked University of Virginia (8-0) to a 15-10 non-conference victory over Towson University (1-4) at the Tigers' Johnny Unitas Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Cavaliers' leading scorer with 25 goals and 7 assists, Bocklet posted his third four-goal effort in the last four games.

"Virginia is number one for a good reason," Towson Coach Tony Seaman said. "They have amazing shooters who can shoot the ball very well. The two differences in the game today were shooting and face-offs. We allowed them to win 17 face-offs and you can't win when you do that. We also had three extra-man chances where we never touched the ball, because they won the face-off and held onto the ball."

After sophomore attackman Matt Lamon (St. Mary's H.S./Annapolis, Md.) scored to give Towson a 1-0 lead just 1:08 into the first quarter, the Cavaliers responded by scoring back-to-back goals from Bocklet and senior midfielder Brian Carroll (Gilman School/Towson, Md.).

However, the Tigers answered with a three-goal run to take a 4-2 lead with 1:49 remaining in the first quarter. After senior midfielder Will Harrington (Friends School/Baltimore, Md.) tied the game at 2-2, freshman attackman Matt Hughes (Central Bucks East H.S./Doylestown, Pa.) scored a transition goal off a feed from senior Joe Wascavage (St. Mary's Ryken H.S./Drayden, Md.) to give Towson a 3-2 cushion.

Graduate student Christian Pastirik (St. Mary's H.S./Annapolis, Md.) followed with a goal off a pass from junior attackman Tim Stratton (Manheim Township H.S./Lititz, Pa.) with 1:49 left to extend the Tigers' advantage to 4-2.

But, Virginia responded by scoring five straight goals over a six-minute span for a 7-4 lead with 7:49 left in the second quarter. Junior midfielder Shamel Bratton (Huntington H.S./Huntington Station, N.Y.) scored a goal and added an assist for the Cavaliers during the run.

Pastirik and Hughes ended the Virginia run by scoring back-to-back goals to close the margin to 7-6 with 1:38 left. With 15 seconds remaining in the half, the Cavaliers upped their advantage to 8-6 when sophomore attackman Steele Stanwick (Loyola Blakefield H.S./Baltimore, Md.) scored an unassisted goal past junior goalkeeper Travis Love (Winters Mill H.S./Westminster, Md.).

Sophomore attackman Stephen Norris (Leonardtown H.S./Compton, Md.) narrowed the Tigers' deficit to 8-7 just over a minute into the third quarter, converting a pass from senior midfielder Brock Armour (Western Reserve Academy/Victoria, B.C., Canada) for his sixth goal of the year. However, the Cavaliers countered by scoring three straight goals, including an extra-man marker by Bocklet, for an 11-7 cushion with 2:42 remaining in the stanza.

After the teams exchanged goals in the final minute of the third quarter, the Cavaliers put the game out of reach by scoring three of the next four goals for a 15-9 margin with 4:27 remaining. Hughes closed out the scoring with 1:23 left with his third goal of the game by converting a pass by sophomore midfielder Carl Iacona (Massapequa H.S./Massapequa, N.Y.).

While Bocklet led the Cavaliers with four goals, Carroll contributed a two-goal, two-assist effort for Virginia, which outshot the Tigers by a 37-34 margin. Pastirik scored three goals and added two assists to lead the Tigers in a losing effort, while Hughes recorded the first "hat trick" of his college career with a three-goal effort.

1 2 3    Next  »

2010-03-21