Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 11, 1993 TAG: 9304110077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
UVA RALLIES TO WIN 13-12 IN LACROSSE
Kevin Pehlke hasn't been around so long that he doesn't still dream of scoring the game-winning goal in sudden death."Especially," he said, "when it's against [North] Carolina."
Never mind that Carolina was ranked No. 1 in the country in college lacrosse and came to Scott Stadium as the only unbeaten team in Division I, with 18 consecutive regular-season victories.
The Tar Heels appeared well on their way to a fifth straight victory over the Cavaliers until seventh-ranked UVa scored the last five goals for a 13-12 victory.
"It's definitely my biggest win ever," said Pehlke, whose left-handed shot from the short side beat Carolina goalie Gary Lehmann after 1:13 of overtime.
Lehmann was playing in place of regular goalie Billy Daye, who fractured a vertebrae one week earlier against Johns Hopkins and will not complete the season.
Pehlke, who broke the school record for career points early in the game, finished with four goals and two assists against first-team All-America defenseman Alex Martin.
"That's why I wanted the ball every chance I could," said Pehlke, held without a goal in UVa's two previous games against Carolina. "After two not-so-great games against them, I studied Martin's every move."
Pehlke and UVa coach Dom Starsia determined that Martin was more vulnerable to a left-handed shot, but it didn't seem to matter when Carolina (9-1) took a 9-5 lead midway through the third quarter.
A UVa comeback sparked by the emotional play of goalie James Ireland brought the Cavaliers to 9-8 at the end of the period, but a three-goal flurry put the Tar Heels ahead 12-8 with under 10 minutes left.
"I felt things slipping away from us at that point," said Starsia, in his first season as the UVa coach, "but we've had a habit all season of winning the close ones."
It was the third one-goal victory for the Cavaliers, who sent the game into overtime on a goal with 1:23 left by junior Chris Driggs, who was almost flat on his back when he whipped the ball past Lehmann.
"I actually thought we lost discipline," Starsia said. "We did some stupid things, which I tried to make a point of emphasis when I called a timeout [with 5:26 left in the third quarter].
"There's been a generation of that kind of stuff around here."
Starsia was referring to an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty that left the Cavaliers (6-2) at a two-man disadvantage. No sooner did UVa return to the field than Ireland got another unsportsmanlike call.
"If I'd had my druthers, I would have taken that play back," Starsia said, "but he's one of the few guys on our team who will hit somebody. We take a lot of our cues from James."
The Cavaliers didn't take one cue from Ireland - when he ran to the wrong end of the field after the third-quarter timeout - but they played with more fire from that point until the end of the game.
"It's not the first penalty like that I've gotten," Ireland said. "I'm sure I give people in the stands a heart attack when I get penalties or run up the field, but that's me.
"I had a little score to settle from last year, when they beat us twice. Both times they kind of whupped our butts (14-9 and 14-5). Whether they were No. 1 or not, it was special to beat Carolina." \
see microfilm for box score