college softball
Virginia qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. The Cavaliers are sent to the Knoxville Regional, where the resurgent Cavaliers will face Miami, Ohio State at noon Friday on ESPN+.
The opening four-team, 16-game double-elimination regional tournament will be hosted by a national seed (Tennessee in UVA’s case). Tennessee, the No. 3 seed in the nation, will play Dayton on Friday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech (39-12-1) will be sent to Los Angeles to take on San Diego State (31-18) on ESPNU starting at 6 p.m. No. 6 seed UCLA will host its regional tournament, taking on Grand Canyon at 8:30 on ESPN+.
Conference USA champion Liberty will play Charlotte on ESPN+ in Athens, Georgia on Friday at 3 p.m. No. 11 Georgia then plays UNC Wilmington at 5:30 on ESPN+.
men’s lacrosse
No. 6 Captains advances to the quarterfinals
Christopher Newport (16-5), ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division III, defeated No. 15 Stevens 12-5 on Sunday night at Jennings Family Stadium, with Alex Brendes scoring three goals. He recorded two assists and earned a spot in the U.S. quarterfinals.
The Hoboken, N.J., Ducks (18-3) tied the game at four with 12:38 left in the second quarter. But CNU’s defense held them back until Stevens scored with 19 seconds left in the game.
The Captains will travel to New York State to face No. 2 Rochester Institute of Technology in the quarterfinals at noon Saturday.
women’s lacrosse
CNU advances to NCAA Round of 16
In the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, Christopher Newport faltered in the second half at home and defeated Catholic of Washington, D.C., 9-6.
The 21st-ranked Captains (14-6) trailed by two points in the third quarter before scoring six goals in the second half, including four in the fourth. Sid Guidi finished with four points, his 13th hat trick of the season. She added a crucial goal with four minutes left.
Kelsey Winters had three points, Sloane McDonald had two goals and Julia Iapicka had two assists.
CNU advances to the Round of 16 and will have a rematch with No. 7 Washington and Lee on Saturday. W&L defeated Rose 17-7. The meeting time and location of the captains and generals will be announced in the future.
Catholic finished with 13 wins and 8 losses.
Florida State ousts No. 5 UVA
In the second round of Division I, despite coming back from a three-point deficit, fifth-seeded Virginia (15-5) defeated 10th-seeded Florida State (19-2) at Kleckner Stadium in Charlottesville. lost 13-8.
Daniel Pavinelli had four goals and one assist, Ashley Gonzalez had three goals and two assists, and Maggie Hall had two goals and three assists for the Gators, who defeated the Cavaliers 5-1 in the fourth quarter.
For UVA, Mackenzie Hogue and Katia Carnevale each scored two goals, and Morgan Schwab added one goal and two assists.
4th place Maryland dominates JMU
Fourth-seeded Maryland defeated James Madison 17-7 at College Park, with Eloise Clevenger of the Terrapins (14-5) scoring five points and dishing out three assists. The Terrapins will play Florida State in the quarterfinals at noon Thursday.
All-American Isabella Peterson led JMU (14-6) with four goals, and fellow senior attacker Caitlin Morgan added two assists.
Sophomore goaltender Caitlin Bowden entered the cage for the Dukes midway through the first quarter and made eight saves while facing 27 shots.
local soccer
Lions Bridge beat VB United in opening match
On Saturday night, Lions Bridge FC defeated Virginia Beach United 1-0 at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex in the season opener for both teams.
Lions Bridge, who were national runners-up in last year’s “Pre-Pro” USL League 2, broke through with a goal from Denis Kriouchenkov in the 77th minute. After a long free kick, Claudel Ngoub headed the ball to Kriouchenkov, who volleyed past goalkeeper Griffin Potter with a powerful, bouncy drive from 18 yards out.
Kriouchenkov, who played at Davidson and grew up in Milwaukee, was named to the All-Atlantic 10 first team last fall.
Goaltender Tyler Hogan earned a shutout win for the Newport News-based Lions.
