Cornell Frustrates Virginia, But Cavs Prevail
by Corey McLaughlin | LaxMagazine.com
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Cornell midfielder Roy Lang beats Virginia midfielder Rhamel Bratton on a dodge Saturday in the teams' clash at M&T Bank Stadium. UVA won, 11-9. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Shamel Bratton finally jumped
for joy in the end zone at M&T Bank Stadium early in the fourth
quarter after he scored to put second-ranked Virginia up two goals
against Cornell. Until then, he and his twin brother Rhamel were
more likely to be seen pretending to break their sticks over the
knees in frustration after a missed shot.
"Most of the day it seemed like we were struggling on offense in
particular, but we worked hard," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said
after the Cavaliers beat No. 14 Cornell, 11-9, Saturday in the
second game of the Face-Off Classic men's tripleheader. "It never
felt like it was going to be easy."
Cornell had a lot to do with the frustration. With defensive
leader Max Feely back from injury after missing two games, the unit
shut out Virginia attackman Steele Stanwick and limited the
Brattons to two points each.
But still the Cavaliers managed to find some offensive production
with their impressive depth. Second midfielder Colin Briggs had a
hat trick and freshman Rob Emery had a pair of impressive long,
second-half goals to help the offense along. And the Brattons came
up big to give Virginia (6-1) a two-goal lead early in the fourth
quarter.
Rhamel gave Virginia its first lead of the game at 8-7 almost four
minutes into the fourth on a behind-the-back goal with three
defenders on him. He charged the crease just to the left of Cornell
goaltender A.J. Fiore and Bratton let a shot loose behind the head
and over his left shoulder as multiple defenders fell to the ground
around him.
Shamel scored just over a minute later to give the Cavs' the
two-goal lead that held up. He face-dodged Cornell defenseman
Thomas Keith and Bratton nearly himself fell over on the move, but
maintained balance and beat Fiore high from the right hash marks at
the Baltimore Ravens' home football stadium.
"They were sliding right away," Rhamel Bratton said of Cornell's
defense. "I don't remember the call. It was something like 'fire,'
and they were sliding right away trying to get the ball out of
sticks. They did a good job of that during the course of the day.
We had some opportunities that we didn't cash in on, definitely me
myself. I felt like my stick was wasn't working for me so I had to
change it toward the end. I think it worked out."
Cornell, which fell to 3-2 on the season, controlled much of the
possession in the first half, including the second quarter when it
won just one of five faceoffs but held the ball off turnovers and
13 ground balls to outshoot Virginia 15-8. The Big Red led 5-4 at
halftime behind two goals from Rob Pannell, who finished with
four.
First-year Cornell head coach Ben DeLuca said he was "proud of the
way our boys played today," but said drawing six second-half fouls
"was really a killer for us." Virginia scored two extra-man goals
in the second half, one by Emery and another from Chris Bocklet
that gave
Virginia a 10-8 lead with 7:43 left.
"We could play with anybody in the country," Pannell said. "A
couple of things didn't go our way today. We made a couple of
mistakes in the second half. The game could have very well went a
different way. On any given day, we can beat anybody in the
country. It shows that when we're at full strength and everybody is
on the same page, we can be the team that we want to be."
The Big Red played with regular starting attackman Steve Mock,
midfielder David Lau and defenseman Feely. The trio was said to be
doubtful for this game with undisclosed injuries. Each had either
missed all or parts of the Big Red's last two games.
"[Feely] did a fantastic job on Steele Stanwick and our team
defense stepped up big," DeLuca said. "We missed [Max] when he was
out. It was huge boost and a huge lift. He's the heart and soul of
our D."
Lau moved from midfield to attack upon his return Saturday.
"Pairing him up with Rob is a move that we felt long term is going
to benefit us," DeLuca said. "Having another playmaker down on
attack, who can shoot and distrubite the ball and handle. He's a
guy who can break down a defense and find the seams. We thought we
needed someone to carry against pressure."
On the other side, Adam Ghitelman was a big part of Virginia's
defensive effort. He finished with 13 saves. Starsia praised the
senior afterwards, saying the Cavs' need him to be strong behind a
relatively young defensive unit.
Starsia also said he was happy to leave the stadium Saturday and
look ahead to practice.
"This is the end of long stretch of lacrosse for us, seven games
in the last three weeks," Starsia said. "We have to get back on the
practice field. We haven't been on the practice field recently.
This is a segment of the season for us where we play two games per
week. We're
finished with that now. To come through and be where we are right
now, with a win over Cornell to finish up, I'm really happy."
He added, "This is the kind of win that will stand up for us over
the course of the season."
