Dox Aitken won the ground ball of the opening faceoff of double overtime, swam through two Loyola defenders and slipped the game-winning goal past Jacob Stover to lift No. 16 Virginia to a 13-12 season-opening victory Saturday over visiting Loyola at Klockner Stadium.

Can't stop Dox Aitken! He beats two men and buries it home. @UVAMensLax wins 13-12 over @LoyolaMLAX in double OT! pic.twitter.com/cm0c5WhYVk

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 10, 2018

It marked the fourth one-goal game in the last five years between the Cavaliers and Greyhounds — two teams that like to play fast. They exchanged haymakers Saturday, combining for 93 shots. Virginia trailed 8-3 before going on a seven-goal binge sparked by freshman attackman Ian Laviano, who scored five goals in his college debut.

The Cavaliers led 12-9 with less than six minutes remaining, but Loyola rallied with two goals in six seconds, thanks to faceoff specialist Mike Orefice’s third goal of the game off the draw that followed John Duffy’s third tally. Jay Drapeau tied it at 12 with 2:14 left. The Greyhounds almost won it on a behind-the-back shot by Pat Spencer off a behind-the-back pass by Aidan Olmstead at the end of regulation, but Spencer’s attempt bounced wide.

Neither team was particularly sharp in the first overtime, in which Virginia and Loyola combined for four turnovers and just one shot on goal.

Aitken, the sophomore whose wing play (as well as that of fellow all-things midfielder Ryan Conrad) helped Monmouth transfer Justin Swenk go 16-for-26 on faceoffs, came up with the ground ball out of a two-on-two to start the second overtime. With the Greyhounds stuck subbing, Aitken used a swim dodge to split the defense and deposited a lefty bouncer to win the game.

“I was really happy that Dox Aitken took a chance in the second overtime to not let Loyola set up their defense and go straight to the goal,” Cavaliers coach Lars Tiffany said.

Laviano added two assists in the win. His six points were the most by a Virginia freshman making his collegiate debut in a season opener since 1997.

UNC Survives

Furman nearly stunned No. 9 North Carolina, staging an 8-1 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a 14-13 lead with 2:09 remaining. But Chris Cloutier’s fifth goal pulled the Tar Heels even at the 1:16 mark and Justin Anderson scored 31 seconds into overtime, as North Carolina held on for a 15-14 victory in Chapel Hill. Tanner Cook added five goals (on seven shots) for the Tar Heels, who improved to 2-0. The Paladins fell to 0-2.

Army Blasts UMass

The last time we saw Army’s David Symmes, the 6-foot-4, 212-pound midfielder was barreling over a Notre Dame defender to score the game-winning goal in overtime — setting up all sorts of intrigue on Selection Sunday. Saturday’s showing was less dramatic, but just as dominant, as Symmes scored three goals and added three assists in the No. 15 Black Knights’ 18-6 victory over visiting UMass. Army’s 18 goals were the most in a season opener since 1993. UMass’ Noah Rak won 12 of 19 faceoffs and scored two goals in the loss.

Guterding, Duke Stay Scorching Hot

Remember when Duke used to start slow? Not these Blue Devils.

Duke, ranked No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20, continued its searing start to the season with a 19-8 victory over visiting Jacksonville.

The Dolphins, coming off a nice season-opening win against Navy, never stood a chance against Justin Guterding and company.  The Blue Devils blanked Jacksonville in the first quarter, jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the second quarter and then put the game away with a five-goal spurt to close out the third quarter. Duke (3-0) has outscored its first three opponents by a combined score of 55-18. Guterding, the senior attackman and Tewaaraton candidate, has 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in three games after a four-goal, five-assist showing Saturday.

Syracuse Shreds Binghamton

So much for the rust factor.

It could have been a tricky season opener for Syracuse, which had its fall season cut short due to a mumps outbreak and is introducing several new faces on offense. Instead, the No. 10 Orange made it a laugher Saturday, defeating Binghamton 21-4 at the Carrier Dome for Syracuse’s largest margin of victory since 2009.

Twelve different players scored for the Orange, while Danny Varello (15-for-17), Seth Delisle (4-for-6), Nick Martin (3-for-3) and Nate Garlow (2-for-3) combined to go 24-for-29 on faceoffs.

“I'm almost a little surprised how well we played, especially early,” Syracuse coach John Desko said.

Brandon Bomberry scored five goals and Stephen Rehfuss added two goals and three assists to pace the Orange past the Bearcats, who are coming off an 11-5 season.

Maryland Stymies Navy

No Bryce Young, no problem.

No. 2 Maryland opened its NCAA championship defense with a 10-4 win over Navy in College Park on Saturday. Freshman Bubba Fairman scored three goals in his collegiate debut and goalie Dan Morris made 11 saves for the Terps, who won their 25th straight season opener.

Maryland’s defense — missing All-American Bryce Young, who did not play due to an undisclosed injury — fared just fine. The Terps held the Midshipmen scoreless for a stretch of 25 minutes, 23 seconds, during which they built an 8-2 lead.

Conry, DeLuca Win Debuts

New head coaches Kevin Conry and Ben DeLuca led Michigan and Delaware, respectively, to victories in their debuts Saturday.

Conry’s debut coincided with the unveiling of snowy U-M Lacrosse Stadium, as Michigan defeated Cleveland State 15-5 behind five goals by Brent Noseworthy and a three-goal, three-assist performance by freshman Alex Buckanavage in his first collegiate game.

In rainy Newark, Del., meanwhile, Will Hirschmann had seven points (four goals, three assists) to lead the Blue Hens to a 16-12 victory over Mount St. Mary’s.

Buckeyes Beat BU

Ohio State (2-0) scored the first eight goals of the game and went on to defeat Boston University 15-9. Canadian attackmen Jackson Reid (four goals) and Tre Leclaire (three goals, one assist) combined for eight points and goalie Matthew Smidt enjoyed a breakthrough performance with 15 saves against the Terriers (1-1).

Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 1 Duke 19, Jacksonville 8
No. 2 Maryland 10, Navy 4
No. 3 Denver 11, Air Force 5
No. 7 Ohio State 15, Boston University 9
No. 8 Rutgers 12, St. John’s 8
No. 9 North Carolina 15, Furman 14 (OT)
No. 10 Syracuse 21, Binghamton 4
No. 16 Virginia 13, No. 11 Loyola 12 (2OT)
No. 12 Johns Hopkins vs. No. 19 Towson - 6 p.m. ET
No. 15 Army 18, UMass 6
No. 17 Penn State 15, Hobart 8

More Scores

Bucknell 14, Bryant 12
Colgate 18, Marist 12
Delaware 16, Mount St. Mary’s 12
Lafayette 10, NJIT 8
Lehigh 13, Mercer 8
Michigan 15, Cleveland State 5
Providence 9, Holy Cross 6
Sacred Heart 11, Stony Brook 9
UMBC 9, Richmond 6
Vermont 12, Fairfield 5
Wagner 11, Manhattan 5