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Virginia Lacrosse Powerhouse: D1 Week 1 Recap

Virginia still remains the top dog as D1 lacrosse returned to action this past weekend!  A lot of the major players and teams made their returns back to the field, and these games did not disappoint.  

So with the first full weekend of college lacrosse back, what are the takeaways from the weekend? Well, we saw a lot of what we would have expected from our major players in the D1 arena. 

Let start with the ACC and reigning champions from the 2021 season, the Virginia Cavaliers. 

D1 Week 1 Recap

Virginia (21) – Air Force (11)

Virginia started out slow, finding themselves scoreless and at a three goal deficit entering the second quarter.  But as expected, Virginia bounced back with a ten goal second quarter. 

Through the remainder of the second and third quarters, the Cavs went on a 17-3 run in order to establish a firm lead and secure the win over Air Force.  Virginia benefited from elite offensive play from players such as Payton Cormier and Xander Dickson who each had 4 goals while the equally impressive Connor Shellenberger, notched 5 assists. 

Duke (21) – Robert Morris (12)

Duke opened up their season in an absolutely dominate fashion, led by sophomore Brennan O’Neill who finished the game with 6 goals on 9 shots. Duke found themselves with an early 10-1 lead before Robert Morris began to open up their scoring.  However, it is clear that the offensive machine that is Duke University, is alive and running well. 

On the defensive end, in net, Mike Adler was a force between the pipes. Adler made 16 saves, a flurry of which came in the third quarter. Adler finished the game with a 57% save percentage, an outstanding start for the senior goaltender. 

Maryland (21) – Highpoint (13)

This game was exactly what everyone expeceted, a one sided blowout by a loaded Maryland team.  The team’s offense was led by  Logan Wisnauskas, with 8 points (5G, 3A) during the game.  However, it was not all about the returning players and familiar faces in Maryland’s debut.  Transfer players Keegan Khan (4G, 2A), Owen Murphy (4G), Jonathan Donville (2G), were also contributing to the offensive gauntlet that day as well. 

Seeing the amount of production and depth coming from all areas of the offense, Maryland is looking much like they always do, primed and ready to make another run at Championship Weekend.

Defensively, goaltending was average, but still more than enough to get the job done.  Returning keeper, Logan McNaney made 8 saves in the contest before second string goalie, Drew Morris came in for the final 6 minutes of the game contributing a save as well. 

Rutgers (15) – LIU (6)

Rutgers opened up their season in tremendous fashion with a 15-6 victory over Long Island University.

Mitch Bartolo, 6’6″ Penn transfer, put up a career performance in his debut game with the Scarlet Knights, tallying a career-high 5 goals and added an assist as well. This was particularly exciting to see considering the disappointing loss of David Sprock to a season-ending injury in preseason. The Scarlet Knights will be heavily dependent on the leadership of Bartolo on the offensive end of the ball this season.

On the defensive side, goaltender Colin Kirst finished with 8 outstanding saves overall, picking up right where he left off on a spectacular season in 2022.  The Knights will likely be leaning on him and their number one defensemen, Bobby Russo, to be the anchors of this defense for the 2022 season as they head into conference play.

Navy (9) – Mt St Marys (11)

Star of the show was Mount’s Goalie with 21 saves to preserve a 11-9 upset victory over the Naval Academy’s Midshipmen.  Griffin made a flurry of point blank and routine saves in order to hold off the Naval Academy’s offensive persistence. 

Individual Performance of the Week: Griffin McGinley (G) Mount St. Mary’s