cville-lax.com

The Virginia defense held Boston College off the boards for the opening 24:20 of the contest, and at the other end of the field Blair Weymouth notched a hat trick and Kate Breslin added two goals to help UVa open up a 7-0 lead en route to a 15-7 victory in the ACC quarterfinals today (April 26) in Chapel Hill. The No. 6 Cavaliers were paced offensively by four goals by both Weymouth and Breslin and a one-goal, three-assist performance from Marye Kellerman; Kendall McBrearty made seven saves to lead the Cavaliers defensively.

Jess Wasilewski won the opening draw of the game and Virginia got into their opening set before Ashley McCulloch dumped the ball into Breslin, who scored two minutes into the contest for the opening goal. Wasilewski won the second draw as well and Virginia worked the ball in for a shot but the Eagles were able to gain possession and start a clear. The pass was overthrown and Virginia gained possession on the sideline. On the reset, the Cavaliers worked a fast break that saw Wasilewski take the ball to the goal circle before dumping it over to Breslin, who scored a second consecutive goal for a 2-0 Virginia lead.

Another broken clear led to a ground ball for Claire Bordley, who transitioned upfield where the Cavaliers settled the ball before Weymouth drove in from the top for a goal at 24:21. Jen Holden caused a turnover in the defensive arc and picked up the ground ball, starting a clear that saw Megan Havrilla draw a shooting space foul. On the reset, Havrilla passed the ball across the arc to a wide-open Wasilewski, who scored at 18:22 to put UVa up 4-0. Weymouth won the ensuing draw and Virginia worked into its offense before Weymouth drove down from the top for the Cavaliers’ fifth goal. An overthrown BC pass went over the sideline and Virginia cleared the ball upfield where O’Malley took from the top and scored at 14:18 for a 6-0 lead. An attempted clear by the Eagles was broken up as Weymouth intercepted a pass in the midfield and took the ball right to the cage from the draw circle, scoring at 11:38 for a 7-0 Virginia lead.

Boston College got on the board as Jenna McCabe scored an unassisted goal for the Eagles at 5:40. A McBrearty save led to an outlet pass to Kellerman at the restraining line; the first year took the ball 70 yards to score her first career goal at 4:20. BC got the final two goals of the half, including a bizarre play in which the ball went off a Virginia defender into the cage on an attempted clear. The Cavaliers led 8-3 at the break.

Boston College scored the opening goal of the second half as Maura Mahoney scored on a drive 1:45 into the period to pull within four at 8-4. The Eagles won the draw but Havrilla checked the ball out of the stick of the BC player out of bounds, giving the ‘Hoos the ball on the sideline. A long outlet went up to Weymouth, who in turn fed Breslin. Breslin attacked the cage and scored less than a minute after Mahoney to move the margin back to five. A Boston College shot went wide and Holden picked up the loose ball, starting a clear that saw the Cavaliers settle the ball before Weymouth attacked from the top, scoring at 25:48. Peyton Killeen scored for BC to stop the brief run and pull the Eagles within five at 10-5.

The Cavalier defense held their ground over the next 23 minutes, not allowing the Eagles on the scoreboard while at the other end of the field Virginia scored five consecutive goals. McBrearty made four saves during this stretch; on the first one Bordley picked up the loose ball and started a clear that saw Virginia settle the ball before Duff quicksticked a pass from McCulloch into the cage for an 11-5 score. A dropped pass in the midfield was picked up by McCulloch and the Cavaliers settled the ball before Wasilewski fed Havrilla with a pass up high; Havrilla took it straight to the cage and scored two minutes after Duff.

Another McBrearty save led to a clear; at the other end of the field Kellerman fed a cutting McCulloch, who scored at 14:59. Again McBrearty made a save, and the ‘Hoos settled their offense before Kellerman and Breslin worked a give-and-go, with Breslin scoring with 8:52 remaining in the game. Breslin’s goal was the 119th of her career, moving her into sole possession of 10th place on the career goals list at Virginia. She passed current UNC head coach Jenny Slingluff Levy, who scored 118 from 1989-1992.

Caity Whitely won the draw, led Kellerman with a pass, who in turn led Kaitlin Swagart, who scored at 8:30 of the second half for Virginia’s final goal of the game. BC’s Lauren Costello scored a pair of goals 24 seconds apart to account for the final score of 15-7.

First-year phenom Brittany Kalkstein controlled four draws in the game, giving her 46 for the season. Her total sets the record for draw controls as a first-year, breaking the record set by Lauren Aumiller in 2001. Kalkstein also ranks sixth all-time in a single season for draw controls; the record is 57 set by Jamie Haas in 1999. Haas also had 120 career goals; Breslin now stands one behind her with 119.

Virginia advances to play Maryland tomorrow (April 27) in ACC semifinal action. The Terps and the Cavaliers will draw at 5:30 in the second game; host UNC will face Duke after the Tar Heels defeated Virginia Tech 18-7 in the opening game of the tournament.