Dear Old U.Va.

Hoos Exorcise Devils

Friday, April 23 2010 by Tiki

About 3 hours ago, there wasn’t a single player on the Virginia roster who had ever beaten Duke.  That is no longer the case. 

After Duke took an early 4-0 lead, it looked like the streak would continue.  Through 10 minutes, the Hoos were struggling in just about every facet of the game, and the Blue Devils were taking advantage. 

I’m not sure exactly what happened at about the 5 minute mark of the first period, but the Hoos woke up.  Matt White scored, and the Hoos added 3 more (including another from White), to end the period tied at 4.  The second period was fairly even as the teams traded goals for a while before the Hoos ended the half with 2 unanswered to take a 9-7 halftime lead.  Shamel Bratton had a goal and 2 assists in the period. 

Things slowed down dramatically in the 3rd period, as just 4 total goals were scored.  The Bratton brothers each scored one and John Haldy had another for the Hoos, giving them a 12-8 lead entering the final period. 

The Hoos would finally pull away in the 4th, with a 4-1 run, including a ridiculous 65 yard goal from goalie Adam Ghitelman.  The 16-9 with just 4 minutes left would be too much for Duke to over come, although they certainly did try.  Three late goals from the Devils made the final score 16-12, but frankly it wasn’t that close.  After the 4-0 lead, the Hoos dominated, winning faceoffs, groundballs and being far more aggressive on both sides of the field. 

Congratulations to the team for getting off the schneid against Duke and moving on to the ACC championship game. 

Also, the women’s team lost to Maryland 10-6.  I don’t have a recap for that because I didn’t watch any of it and also we lost so I’m not interested.