PHILADELPHIA — Virginia got another maestro performance from Connor Shellenberger. It received a stellar game from goalie Matthew Nunes. And it held a late two-goal lead.
Virginia
Virginia doesn’t have final say, gets bounced by Notre Dame from NCAAs
“When two of the best teams in the country are competing at a high level, you can’t ever take your foot off the gas,” Nunes said. “They kept their foot on the gas, and if that was 10 seconds or 60 seconds into a possession, you always felt their pressure.”
Shellenberger had three goals and three assists and Nunes made 17 saves for Virginia (13-4), which won the national title in 2019 and 2021.
Notre Dame (13-2) will face top-seeded Duke (16-2) in Monday’s final. The Blue Devils defeated fifth-seeded Penn State, 16-15, on Garrett Leadmon’s winner 65 seconds into overtime. Replays showed Leadmon stepped on the edge of the crease, but the play couldn’t be reviewed under the sport’s rules.
Eric Dobson had four goals and an assist for the Irish, who had lost their past six meetings with Virginia — including their only two setbacks this season.
The Cavaliers appeared on their way to making it 3 for 3 when they carried an 11-9 lead into the final three minutes. But Notre Dame made the most of its timeouts, slicing up a Virginia defense done in partially by an unexpected imbalance in possession time and some injuries that forced regulars into even greater responsibilities.
The Irish needed 14 seconds out of a timeout for Chris Kavanagh to score on the doorstep off a Dobson feed. The Irish tied it moments later when Dobson charged down the middle of the Cavaliers’ defense with 2:07 to go.
Virginia briefly reclaimed the lead on Thomas McConvey’s goal off Shellenberger’s assist from behind the goal. But Notre Dame won the ensuing faceoff, called a timeout and needed just 10 seconds for Jake Taylor to deposit a Tevlin pass for the equalizer with 32.2 seconds remaining.
Overtime unfolded similarly. The Irish’s Will Lynch — who was 13 for 22 on faceoffs against tireless Virginia fifth-year senior Petey LaSalla — claimed the draw and Notre Dame again took a timeout. Tevlin then charged past Grayson Sallade and beat Nunes for the winner a mere nine seconds after the stoppage.
“I didn’t do my job at the end as a defensive coach because giving up goals that quickly, it’s on me,” Virginia Coach Lars Tiffany said.
Sallade, a fifth-year defensive midfielder who played prominent roles on the two national title teams, logged extra time in the second half with Jeff Conner cramping. And defenseman Cole Kastner, tasked with defending Tewaaraton finalist Pat Kavanagh (two goals, one assist), was bumped up to play long pole at times and used on faceoff wings after long stick midfielder Scott Bower was hurt.
Still, any defensive weariness didn’t show up until late thanks largely to Nunes, who arguably saved his best for the Irish this season. The sophomore made 50 saves and allowed 31 goals in three games against Notre Dame, good for a .617 save percentage against one of the nation’s best offenses.
“Overall, our team defensive slide scheme didn’t have a great day,” Tiffany said. “Matt Nunes bailed us out. Multiple times in that first half and the third quarter as well, it felt like, ‘Oh, boy, someone’s wide open — oh, he made a save again.’ ”
For much of the day, it appeared Shellenberger — the most outstanding player of the tournament two years ago — would do enough to carry the Cavaliers to Memorial Day. The redshirt junior dealt with nagging injuries all season, even missing a game early last month, but finally got fully healthy in time for the postseason.
He rattled off 11 goals and 11 assists in three tournament games, three points shy of matching an NCAA tournament record and two points shy of his output over four games in 2021.
Shellenberger might have surpassed both marks Monday had the Cavaliers advanced. Instead, Virginia is left to reckon with a jarring finish — particularly the large class of fifth-year seniors that includes LaSalla, Sallade and attackman Xander Dickson and was seeking to bookend their careers in Charlottesville with NCAA titles.
“We didn’t win the national championship, and that’s just the standard we’ve created,” Dickson said. “We’re not trying to be arrogant about that, but that’s what we want. This is Virginia lacrosse. This is the best of the best, the blue bloods. We want national titles, and in that essence, yes, we didn’t reach our goals. But it’s definitely not a failure. We had so much fun along the way, and it was such a crazy ride.”
It’s the final day of the Battle 4 Atlantis and the West Virginia Mountaineers are hoping to leave the Bahamas with a third-place finish in the event. Winning the whole thing would have been extremely impressive considering the field, but Darian DeVries’ squad has already notched a key resume-building win over Gonzaga and can do so again today against No. 24 Arizona.
Here are my picks for today’s game. Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
1 Star – Not very confident
2 Star – A little confident
3 Star – Fairly confident
4 Star – Very confident
5 Star – Should be a lock to happen
3-star play on Arizona (-6.5): This is a really tough matchup for the Mountaineers playing its third game in three days. When these two meet later in the year, I believe WVU will put together a much stronger showing and potentially even win the game. Not there, though.
The Wildcats have a nine-man rotation, which occasionally will be a ten-man. WVU’s key players have logged a ton of minutes over the last two days, with both games going to overtime. As evidenced in yesterday’s game, if the Mountaineers face serious foul trouble, it impacts them more than most teams due to a lack of depth. Amani Hansberry should be able to produce a third straight big game, but if he starts picking up fouls left and right, WVU will be in trouble. Arizona’s guard-heavy lineup will attack and finish around the rim with ease.
I’ve got the Wildcats pulling away with a strong second half.
1-star play on the under: Arizona is a high-scoring team that likes to push the tempo. They’ve averaged 67 field goal attempts in this tournament, whereas WVU has attempted 59 and 63 in games that went to overtime. For West Virginia to win, they’re going to have to slow things down when they have the ball, much like they did in the opening-round game against Gonzaga.
I mentioned fatigue setting in as a possibility in the WVU-Louisville game yesterday, and although Darian DeVries isn’t using that as an excuse, you can tell it played a factor for both teams, especially in the first half. Both squads looked sloppy, slow, and disjointed. I seriously doubt WVU and Arizona will have an extra bounce in their step today, playing for the third time in three days and in a game deciding who takes home third place.
ATS: 3-3 (50%)
O/U: 4-2 (66%)
Overall: 7-5 (58%)
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A Virginia woman has been arrested and charged in connection with a murder-for-hire plot, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s office.
Gennevieve McGhee, 44, was allegedly captured via audio and video evidence in the meticulous planning of a murder for hire, the sheriff’s office said.
McGhee is accused of meeting with a confidential source at her residence in Ridgeway, Virginia. The source was acting under law enforcement direction and utilizing a recording device to capture evidence.
TEXAS INFLUENCER SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT
Henry County Sheriff’s Office charged Gennevieve McGhee, 44, with criminal solicitation of murder following an investigation that revealed her alleged involvement in planning a murder for hire. (Henry County Sheriff’s Office)
She allegedly discussed detailed instructions on payment arrangements and instructions for carrying out a robbery and murder.
McGhee is charged with criminal solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony.
INDIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL CHARGED IN MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT ON SIKH SEPARATIST LEADER IN NEW YORK CITY
Gennevieve McGhee, 44, is charged with criminal solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony. (iStock)
McGhee was taken into custody by deputies from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday and is being held at the Henry County Adult Detention Center with no bond.
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The case remains under review by the Henry County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Additional information on the case is not available at this time, officials said.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (4-2) will meet the No. 24 Arizona Wildcats in the third place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis midseason tournament for the sixth meeting between the two programs.
West Virginia vs. Arizona Series History
Arizona leads 2-3
Last Meeting: March 28, 2008 (NCAA Tournament) WVU 75-65
When: Friday, November 29
Location: Paradise Island, Bahamas, Imperial Arena (3,900)
Tip-off: 3:00 p.m. EST
Stream: ESPN2
Announcers: Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli
Radio: Tony Caridi (PBP), Brad Howe (analyst) Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College(Radio affiliates)
WVU Game Notes
– West Virginia was scheduled to play in the 2020 Battle 4 Atlantis. The tournament was moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., due to COVID, and the Mountaineers won the renamed Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic.
– WVU is 45-16 in in-season tournaments since 2007.
– With a win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU defeated a Top 5 AP team for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Mountaineers downed No. 3 Kansas in Morgantown, 91-85.
– Prior to the overtime win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU had lost six straight overtime games.
– This is WVU’s fourth trip outside the United States and Puerto Rico to play a regular season game. WVU played in Cancun in 2013 and 2019 and opened the season in Germany in the 2017 Armed Forces Classic.
– West Virginia is the only team in the country that has two players on the same team who averaged more than 20 points per game from last season — Tucker DeVries (21.6 ppg) and Jayden Stone (20.8 ppg)
– West Virginia is 201-55 against nonconference teams in regular season games in the last 21 seasons.
– The Mountaineers have posted a winning nonconference record in 31 of the last 32 seasons.
– WVU is 265-99 in its last 362 games against unranked teams, including winners of 148 of its last 180 at the WVU Coliseum.
– This is the 116th season and 122nd year overall for WVU basketball, which began in 1903.
– Darian DeVries, who led Drake to six consecutive 20-win seasons and has a career .731 winning percentage as a head coach, was named the 23rd head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University on March 24, 2024.
– DeVries has a record of 154-57 (.731) in seven seasons as a head coach, including a 59-16 (.787) mark in the last two-plus seasons.
– This past August, the men’s basketball team went to Italy for a 10-day tour and won all three of its games against international competition.
– West Virginia returns just 2.8 percent of its scoring from last season’s team (Ofri Naveh).
– The Mountaineers are led by a pair of transfers in Tucker DeVries (Drake) and Javon Small (Oklahoma State). Last season, DeVries was named an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention selection, while Small earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.
– In addition, Eduardo Andre (Fresno State), Joseph Yesufu (Washington State), Sencire Harris (Illinois), Amani Hansberry (Illinois) and Jayden Stone (Detroit Mercy) will all see considerable action this season.
– Tucker DeVries was named to the 20-member Julius Erving Preseason Watch List, giving annually to the nation’s top small forward.
– Tucker DeVries was named to the preseason Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List.
– Tucker DeVries was named to the John R. Wooden Award Top 50 Preseason Watch List.
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