One week after being done in by a big start to the first quarter, the Princeton men's lacrosse team found itself trying to climb out of a hole after a big start to the third quarter. With the way the rain was falling, a big hole was no place to be.

Virginia scored four goals in a 1:38 span early in the second half and then held off Princeton 12-10 in a game played in a massive rainstorm that saw almost three inches of rain fall during the two hours of play. The game, which drew a crowd of 1,125 of the heartiest fans anywhere to Powers Field at Princeton Stadium, was the first regular season college lacrosse game ever shown on ESPN.

Mark Kovler tied his career high with four goals for Princeton. Carroll and Ben Rubeor led Virginia with three gaols each. The Cavaliers, ranked third this week in both polls, improved to 6-0 with the win. Princeton, ranked 11th in both, fell to 1-2.

Princeton fell to Johns Hopkins a week ago after falling behind by an 8-0 score by the middle of the second quarter. This time, the first half was a tight, back-and-forth affair that ended with the Cavs ahead 6-5 at intermission.

By the time four minutes had elapsed in the third quarter, that lead was up to five at 10-5, as Shamel Bratton, Brian Carroll, Danny Glading and then Carroll again scored in a 1:38 stretch that seemed to break the game open.

Princeton, behind Kovler and Bob Schneider, tried to rally, first getting to within 10-8 before UVa scored two straight and then to 12-10 on Kovler's fourth with 2:07 to play. Princeton would have a few opportunities after that, but the Tigers would get no closer.

Garrett Billings and Rubeor scored to give the Cavs a 2-0 lead midway through the first, but Tiger freshman cousins Chris McBride and Jack McBride answered to tie it at 2-2 before Glading scored a huge goal with 2.5 seconds left in the quarter to make it 3-2. Princeton would tie the score at 3-3 and 4-4, and a Kovler goal with 24 seconds left in the first half made it 6-5 at intermission.

Adam Ghitelman made 12 saves for UVa, with his final one coming against Dan Cocoziello in the final two minutes as Princeton tried to come back. Schneider scored two goals for the Tigers. The senior now has 23 career goals, of which six have come against Virginia. Alex Berg won 15 of 24 face-offs for Princeton.

The Tigers will host Hofstra next Saturday, March 15, at Princeton Stadium. The long-range forecast is for 53 degrees and sunny.

* * * *

PRINCETON, NJ-Virginia scored four goals in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second half to break open a tight contest and defeat Princeton 12-10 in the rain at Princeton Stadium.

The game was an historic occasion for lacrosse as the first regular-season game televised on ESPN.

The win is the sixth in a row without a defeat for the third-ranked Cavaliers, while Princeton lost for the second week in a row to fall to 1-2 overall.

Brian Carroll paced the Cavalier offense with three goals and an assist to become the first UVa midfielder with at least six multi-goal games since David Curry had seven in in 1997. Ben Rubeor, coming off a knee injury in only his third game, also scored three times. Danny Glading continued his fine work directing the Virginia attack with two goals and two assists.

“I think it was a good win against a quality team in adverse conditions on the road,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “We're still working through some things, but we played much harder and smarter in the second half and I'm glad we were able to take control of the game and get the W.”

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2008-03-08