FINAL SCORE: No. 13 Virginia 10, Vermont 9
NEW CANAAN, Conn. – Nick Washuta recorded a career-high 19 saves, but the 13th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers scored a pair of goals in the final 2:30 to take a 10-9 win over the Catamounts Saturday at New Canaan High School.
 
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"Unbelievable atmosphere today at New Canaan High," head coach Chris Feifs said. "Chip Buzzeo, Graham Leveston, and the IMLCA did a first-class job of hosting us and putting on a great event. I am proud of the resilience the guys showed today against a stacked UVA team with how they handled the ebbs and flows of the game. We did not get the result that we wanted but I do not fault our effort or focus. Execution is paramount in close battles like today if we want to come out on the winning end, especially come conference tournament time."
 
Goals from Mike D'Amario and Ian Laviano gave Virginia a quick 2-0 lead in the opening quarter.
 
The Cats battled back to tie the game as Braiden Davis picked up assists on back-to-back goals from Liam Limoges. Davis finished the game with three assists and now has 15 helpers on the season.
 
Virginia tallied the next two goals to take a 4-2 lead with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter. But again, the Catamounts battled back. Ian MacKay scored the first Vermont goal and Dawes Milchling scored on a great individual effort with 0.9 seconds remaining on the clock to tie the game at 4-4.
 
Laviano and Ben French traded goals in the opening three minutes of the second quarter to push the game to 5-5, and New Canaan native Michael Kraus's goal with 6:18 remaining in the half gave Virginia a 6-5 lead at the break.
 
Milchling's second of the game evened the score at 6-6 early in the second half. A pair of Virginia goals pushed the game to 8-6 with 8:59 to play in the third.
 
Greenwich native Jack Knight scored a pair of goals with MacKay's second of the game sandwiched between to give the Catamounts their first lead of the game, 9-8, with 1:18 left in the third. Knight finished the game with three points, scoring the pair of goals and assisting on French's goal in the second quarter.
 
Darien native Liam Rischmann nearly gave Vermont a two-goal lead early in the fourth on a clear shot on Virginia's Alex Rode. His shot rocketed off the crossbar to midfield, where UVA scooped the ground ball and went on the attack.
 
Virginia tied the game with 2:30 remaining in regulation with a man-up goal following a 30-second Vermont penalty. Vermont could not win the loose ball possession on the following faceoff and Virginia tallied another goal with 1:47 remaining to take a 10-9 lead.
 
UVM's last-ditch efforts in the final minutes came up short, and the 13th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers held on for a 10-9 win.
 
Washuta had several key stops among his 19 total from the game. Virginia's Rode finished the game with 10 stops.
 
Vermont closes the regular season next Friday (April 27) with Senior Night celebrations at Virtue Field. The 7 p.m. game against UMBC will be one of the first America East games to air on the recently released ESPN+ platform.
 
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