Coming off a big ACC road win at Notre Dame, the Virginia women’s lacrosse team looked to secure another conference victory against unranked Pittsburgh on Saturday. Pitt has struggled this season against ACC opponents and went into the game looking for its first conference win. A trio of hat tricks, including a double from Katia Carnevale, made sure the Panthers stayed winless as the Cavaliers rolled to a 19-10 win.
The Hoos got off to a hot start and just kept rolling at Klockner Stadium. They first scored within the first minute and a half on goal credited to Carnevale and assisted by Morgan Schwab. Not even a minute later, Kiki Shaw also found the back of the net. And not even a minute after that, Jenna Dinaro scored with, unsurprisingly, another assist from Schwab.
The Panthers did not see their first goal until almost six minutes into play. The Virginia defense caused quite a few turnovers, which made goalkeeper Mel Josphsen’s job a bit easier. The Hoos were able to hold Pitt to just 2 goals in the first quarter, whereas the Virginia offense was able to produce 7.
“We showed a lot of great effort,” UVA coach Sonia LaMonica said. “I did think there was a period where we came out of the gates really strong, and we found some early goals. Then, I thought we did get a little casual and a little undisciplined. What I love is how we responded. The team stepped up and they locked it back in. And that was awesome and beautiful to see.”
As LaMonica noted, the start of the second quarter featured a slight lull for Virginia. Pitt opened the second quarter with a quick goal and its defense kept UVA’s offense quiet for the first 6 minutes of the quarter. With a green card against Katie Galatica and shortly after Kate Miller, the Hoos struggled to produce much offensively.
With 8 minutes left, however, Shaw was able to put another one on the board and regenerate some momentum for the hosts. Less than a minute later, the Carnevale-Schwab connection worked again as Carnevale scored with the assist from Schwab. The Hoos held control for the remainder of the first half, taking a score of 11-4 into intermission.
The Hoos maintained the momentum in the third quarter. Carnevale scored the first goal of the half again, this time 28 seconds in, for her fifth of the day. Virginia sustained the pace with solid defense and an energized offense. The Hoos held the Panthers to just 3 goals in the third, while the Hoos had 7. Going into the fourth quarter, the score stood at 18-7 in favor of Virginia. In the final frame, Pitt made a charge, but it wasn’t enough to take down the Hoos.
The Virginia offense proved very dynamic in the victory, making it difficult for the Pitt defense to keep up. The Hoos had 9 different players find the back of the net. Carnevale had herself a career day with 6 goals and 1 assist on the day for 7 points. Schwab had a hat trick too with 3 goals and 3 assists. She has 3+ assists in 5 straight games. With 37 assists, Schwab currently leads Division I. Dinardo posted her third straight hat trick too with 3 goals. Among the other contributors, Madison Alaimo tied her career-highs with 4 points and 3 assists.
“We had some amazing performances: Katia with 6 and 1, Morgan continued with her strong play, and our defensive effort was solid,” LaMonica said. “Overall, another great day to be a Hoo.”
With that, the Cavaliers added another win to their so far impressive 2024 campaign. They’ll take an 8-1 record into their next game against No. 4 JMU on Wednesday at Klöckner Stadium.
