CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia's men's lacrosse team honored the memory of women's player Yeardley Love, then the No. 1 Cavs dismantled Mount St. Mary's 18-4 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday night.
By winning, the Cavaliers advance to next weekend's quarterfinal round, where they will face No. 8 Stony Brook on Sunday afternoon. The game will be played at Stony Brook, which was chosen as this year's quarterfinal host site long before the season began.
The Cavs took the field an hour prior to the opening draw, and were greeted with a standing ovation from the fans scattered around the stadium. The team was wearing shirts that read "One Love" in script on the back, and JTB was imprinted on the sleeves.
The acronym, which means Just The Boys, was coined by former player Will Barrow, who died in 2008 in what was ruled a suicide. At the time, his teammates honored him by using his phrase, which they said meant that when times get tough, the team comes together and unifies.
Prior to the game, Love was honored with a moment of silence.
Offensively the Cavs were clicking out of the gate, and rattled off three quick goals before the Mount called a time out to try to slow the momentum. That didn't happen, though, and Virginia opened the game with eight unanswered goals.
Brian Carroll picked up a first-half hat trick, and team captain Mikey Thompson, a Collegiate grad, chimed in with a goal of his own, his third of the season.
Junior goalie Adam Ghitelman maintained his form after a brilliant weekend at the ACC tournament. The keeper, who has been up and down in his career, is enjoying a month-long hot streak that is making things easy for the offense.
Ghitelman was relieved in the fourth quarter for Rob Fortunato, giving the sophomore some NCAA tournament experience.
The blowout echoed last year's tournament opener, when Virginia led Villanova 18-0 before the Wildcats scored six unanswered to end the match. The largest first-round victory in history was a 21-point margin in 1991 as Syracuse crushed Michigan State.
The crowd of 3,355 was a typically loud and boisterous one, though the game did attract a glut of media attention. More than 40 members of the press were credentialed, drawing extra attention to the crowd, which included football star Howie Long. His son, a freshman, plays for U.Va.
Towards the end of the game the Cavs worked to rotate in Long and the rest of the bench players, but NCAA rules dictate that only 32 members of the 40-man team are allowed to suit up for tournament play, so not everyone was able to participate.
Contact Michael Phillips at (804) 649-6546 or mphillips@timesdispatch.com.
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