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After a disappointing start to the season, Virginia might finally be turning the corner. The Cavaliers (4-4, 1-2 ACC) followed up Wednesday’s 11-7 victory over Loyola with a dominating 15-5 upset victory over No. 11 Notre Dame (8-4, 2-1 ACC). It was the third straight loss for the Irish.

In the first six games of the season, Virginia surrendered 88 goals and only once held its opponent under double digits (a 17-9 win at William & Mary). Now the defense has given up just a combined 12 goals in consecutive victories.

On Saturday, junior goalie Rachel Vander Kolk was rock solid, making seven saves while helping limit the Irish to just two goals through the first 42 minutes of the game. Defender Wyatt Whitley and midfielder Kasey Behr each had three caused turnovers, helping force 20 Notre Dame turnovers in the game.

Virginia scored the first three goals of the game and also had a six-goal run in the first half to lead 9-1. Kelly Reese, who had five goals in the win over Loyola, scored three of those early goals for the Cavaliers. Senior Besser Dyson was also key to Virginia’s early success. She had a hand in five of Virginia’s first seven goals with three goals and two assists.

Senior Posey Valis took over from there. The senior scored Virginia’s final six goals of the game, five of the them in the second half, to set a new single-game career high for her.

Notre Dame, which had won eight straight games before its current skid, was led by Heidi Annaheim with two goals.

Syracuse Escapes Harvard in OT

Harvard's dramatic second-half rally ended in heartbreak as Syracuse's Mary Rahal scored just 40 seconds into overtime off an assist from goalie Asa Goldstock to give the Orange a 17-16 victory in Winter Park, Fla. Syracuse improved to 8-2, avoiding a third consecutive loss, while Harvard fell to 4-2.

Trailing 14-8 midway through the second half, Harvard went on runs of four goals andnd three goals, tying the game at 15-15 on Julia Glynn's goal with 1:01 to play. Syracuse had a quick answer as Nicole Levy scored just 20 seconds later to put the Orange up 16-15, but the Crimson forced overtime on Nicole Baiocco's goal with just nine seconds remaining.

Syracuse's Morgan Widner won her eighth draw control of the game to start overtime, and following a Syracuse timeout, Rahal scored the game-winner. Rahal was one of four Syracuse players with a hat trick, and Levy had a team-high 6 points (3g, 3a). In addition to the assist on the winning goal, Goldstock made 16 saves in the win. Glynn had a game-high four goals for Harvard and Marisa Romeo had three goals and three assists. Harvard outshot Syracuse 48-35 and committed just six turnovers, compared to 12 for Syracuse.

Boston College Holds Off Louisville

Boston College scored 10 first half goals and held No. 20 Louisville scoreless for the first 20 minutes of the game. That strong start held up as the Eagles (8-3, 1-2 ACC) downed the Cardinals 14-11.

Senior Kayla O’Connor had a career-high five goals for BC, including three straight goals in a span of just 86 seconds in the first half that gave the Eagles a 9-0 lead. O’Connor has scored at least three goals in five straight games for the Eagles.

Junior Kaileen Hart had a career-high seven points (2g, 5a) for Boston College with six of those points coming in the first half. Sam Apuzzo (2g, 1a) had six draw controls to help the Eagles to a 17-10 advantage in that category.

Hannah Koloski had four goals and Meghan Siverson had three to help key Louisville’s (8-3, 1-2 ACC) comeback attempt, but the Cardinals had just two assists on their 11 goals.

Since falling 18-12 to Virginia Tech on Feb. 18, the Eagles have won five of six games with the only loss coming to No. 1 Maryland.

Gators Open Big East Play Strong

Connecticut hung around for a half, trailing No. 3 Florida just 9-6 five minutes into the second half, but the Gators dominated the second half on the way to a 20-10 victory in its Big East opener. Florida has won seven straight since losing its opener to defending national champion North Carolina.

Lindsey Ronbeck and Mollie Stevens each had five goals and two assists for the Gators while the Pirreca sisters, Shayna and Sydney, combined for 12 points (3g, 3a each). Haley Hicklen made 10 saves in the win.

Penn State Dominates Rutgers

Penn State’s explosive offense continued to click as the Nittany Lions (8-1) opened Big Ten play with an 18-7 victory over Rutgers. Steph Lazo had nine points (3g, 6a) to pace the attack while Katie O’Donnell and Madison Carter each had four goals. Cat Rainone made nine saves to earn the victory over a Rutgers team that upset James Madison last weekend and had won three straight games.

Quakers Quiet Duke in 16-6 Win

Penn honored its 2007 Ivy League champion and NCAA final four team on Saturday, and the 2017 edition of the Quakers looked like a team ready to make its own mark. No. 12 Penn (6-1) trailed Duke 4-2 midway through the first half, but then scored eight straight goals to take control in a 16-6 win over the Blue Devils.

Britt Brown made 11 saves for the Quakers and Emily Rogers-Healion paced the offense with seven points (4g, 3a). She was one of just four Penn players to find the back of the net, but the Quakers had no need to spread the wealth as Caroline Cummings had five goals, Natalie Stefan had four and Alex Condon had three.

Here’s one of Cumming’s goals in the victory.

Hokies Pick Up 10th Victory

No. 15 Virginia Tech downed state rival William & Mary 17-12 in a game delayed by weather. The Hokies won their fourth straight game to improve to 10-2 in John Sung’s first season coaching in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech scored the first three goals of the game and never trailed, but W&M cut it to 10-8 early in the second half before the Hokies pulled away. Marissa Davey (3g, 2a), Kristine Loscalzo (4g), Taylor Caskey (3g, 1a) and Tristan McGinley (3g) paced the Hokies. Lindsey Jenks had a hat trick for W&L (2-7).

We Have a Rivalry

Michigan’s Kim Coughlan drove to the left side, ducked inside and then buried a shot in the right cover of the goal to give the Wolverines a 12-11 overtime win against Ohio State. It was the first time in five tries that the Wolverines beat the school’s main athletic rival.

Coughlan had Michigan’s final three goals of the game while Lauren Oberlander paced the Wolverines (3-7, 1-0 Big Ten) with four goals. Mira Shane came off the bench to make seven saves while allowing just five goals to earn the win.

Trailing 11-8 late in the game, Ohio State (5-5, 0-1 Big Ten) scored three straight goals in the final four minutes to force overtime. Molly Wood had three goals for the Buckeyes, including the game-tying goal with 43 seconds remaining, and Baley Parrott also scored three times.

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 3 Florida 20, Connecticut 10
No. 4 Syracuse 17, Harvard 16 (OT)
No. 8 Penn State 18, Rutgers 7
Virginia 15, No. 11 Notre Dame 5
No. 12 Penn 16, Duke 6
No. 15 Virginia Tech 17, William & Mary 12
Boston College 14, No. 20 Louisville 11

Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Women’s Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 1 Adelphi 18, St. Michael’s 0
No. 2 Lindenwood 23, Westminster 0
No. 3 LeMoyne 12, Bentley 6
No. 4 NYIT 18, Philadelphia 3
No. 5 Florida Southern 21, Seton Hill 10
No. 7 Rollins 16, Belmont Abbey 3
No. 9 Limestone 10, Mount Olive 9
No. 10 Queens 20, Brevard 6
No. 12 Regis 19, Adams State 2
Bloomsburg 8, No. 17 Shippensburg 4
No. 19 Pace 19, No. 14 Southern New Hampshire 11
No. 20 Indiana (Pa.) 18, UVA-Wise 2

Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20 Scoreboard

No. 1 Middlebury 10, No. 13 Wesleyan 6
No. 2 Trinity 9, Bates 5
No. 10 Washington and Lee 18, No. 7 Catholic 3
Dickinson 9, No. 9 Ithaca 7
No. 15 Salsibury 9, No. 17 Mary Washington 7
No. 20 Colby 10, No. 19 Tufts 9