The Louisville (10-6, 2-4) lacrosse team fell to No. 15 Virginia 11-7 on Saturday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. McKayla Conti led the Cardinals with two goals while Virginia’s Maggie Jackson finished with three.
“The one bright spot today was a stellar performance from our starting goalkeeper Brittany Read,” said head coach Kellie Young. “This was one of the best performances of her career.”
Louisville jumped out to a 2-0 start with goals from Meghan Siverson and Conti. The Cavaliers scored in the 22nd minute to cut the lead to one. Jillian Balog scored on a free position shot in the next minute to give Louisville a 3-1 lead.
Virginia then scored on a free position shot in the 13th minute to cut the lead to 3-2. The Cardinals answered with a 2-0 run over a two minute span to take a 5-2 lead. Elise Koehl and Hannah Koloski scored for Louisville.
With eight minutes left in the first half, the Cavaliers scored to cut into the Cardinals’ lead. Two minutes later Allison Ferrara scored on a free position shot to take a 6-3 lead with six minutes left in the first half. The Cavaliers would end the half on a 2-0 run in the final four minutes to cut the lead to 6-5 at the half.
Virginia controlled the second half offensively, outscoring the Cardinals 6-1. They started the second half on a 2-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 7-6 with 25 minutes remaining. Conti scored at the 23:47 mark to tie the game at 7-7. The Cavaliers then went on a 4-0 run to close the game for an 11-7 win.
Virginia outshot Louisville 38-19 and won the draw control battle 13-6. The Cavaliers also finished with a 22-17 edge in ground balls.
Read finished with 14 saves while Virginia finished with five. Read also led the Cardinals with three caused turnovers and five ground balls.
Louisville will conclude the regular season on Saturday, April 22 as they host Syracuse for Senior Day at the UofL Lacrosse Stadium at 1:00 p.m.
Kimberli Pemberton
Assistant Sports Information Director
University of Louisville