Cavs' run ends in semis

BALTIMORE — The game was over, and one by one, Virginia players and coaches descended beneath a stairwell, down a tunnel, and into their locker room.

Some players tossed equipment to fans in the stands. Some exchanged high-fives. Some simply walked by without any acknowledgment at all.

Virginia coach Dom Starsia was the last person to walk off the field.

It was hard to tell that UVa had just suffered one of its toughest losses in recent memory.

But that all changed in the postgame press conference. When Starsia was asked his first question, he remained speechless for nearly 10 seconds. Seated to Starsia’s right was sophomore Chris Bocklet, who had tears in his eyes.

Duke, thanks to a Max Quinzani goal with 12 seconds left, defeated Virginia, 14-13, in the NCAA semifinals in front of a crowd of 44,389 at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday night.

Almost a month after Virginia player George Huguely was charged with first-degree murder in the death of women’s player Yeardley Love, UVa’s season was over.

“I’m grateful that I have an opportunity to do this and grateful that I have an opportunity to work with people like these guys and the other guys in the locker room, who are fairly upset that the final result wasn’t what we hoped for,” Starsia said.

“But I would tell you that it doesn’t diminish who they are and what they’ve battled through, and the men that they are. I think the qualities that they showed on the lacrosse field today reflect who these guys are and the kind of things that sort of carried us throughout the spring.”

Starsia was referring to his team’s fight. With just over 12 minutes remaining in the game, top-seeded Virginia (16-2) seemed doomed.

Duke (15-4) had just scored its seventh straight goal to take a 12-8 lead.

However, Virginia scored three straight over the next five-plus minutes to make it 12-11. After a Duke goal made it 13-11 with 4:27 left, UVa answered with two goals to tie the game with 1:21 on the clock.

“I’m sure a lot of people thought we were going to [fold],” said Virginia sophomore Steele Stanwick, who scored three goals. “I just think it shows a lot of character by the team and the type of people this team is made up of.”

But the Blue Devils C.J. Costabile won the ensuing faceoff against Garett Ince, which set up Quinzani for his game-winner.

With eight seconds left, Virginia had one last crack, but was called for offsides.

“We had set up a full-field eight-second play and Brian [Carroll]. I just don’t know what he was thinking about exactly ...,” Starsia said.

“He was supposed to pass the ball and thought he had a little more time, but he ran over the line and we were offsides.”

In the first half, Virginia took a 3-1 lead after the second of back-to-back goals by Stanwick.

Duke was able to tie the game at 5 with 5:45 left the second quarter after a goal by Will McKee, but UVa answered with two goals — the second coming with just 12 seconds left by Carroll, which gave the Cavaliers a 7-5 lead going into the break.

Virginia led 8-5 in the third, but Duke scored three straight goals to tie the game with 3:12 remaining. Less than two minutes later, the Blue Devils took their first lead of the game. Quinzani received a pass just a few feet in front of the Virginia net from Ned Crotty and beat Adam Ghitelman. The man-up goal gave Duke a 9-8 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“I think it’s definitely been difficult the last month,” Stanwick said. “We really had to lean on each other and support each other, and playing seemed to take our mind off of everything that’s happened.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s been very difficult, but I’m really proud of the team.”