EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (theACC.com) – Virginia captured the seventh NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship in program history on Monday, holding off a late Maryland rally to prevail, 17-16, at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers (14-4) won their second consecutive national championship and denied third-seeded Maryland (15-1) an undefeated season when goalie Alex Rode saved Luke Wierman’s potential game-tying shot from point-blank range with five seconds left to secure the win.
 
Current ACC membership collectively now owns 25 NCAA men’s lacrosse championships, including nine of the last 13 and 14 total since 2000. A current ACC school has played in the NCAA Championship game in 18 of the last 20 tournaments (34 times in that span).
 
With Boston College earning the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, the ACC won both lacrosse championships for the first time since 2016, when North Carolina swept the men’s and women’s titles. This is the seventh time in ACC history that the league has held the national championships in both men’s and women’s lacrosse at one time (1999, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2021).
 
The Cavaliers join North Carolina (1981-82) and Duke (2013-14) as ACC programs to win consecutive national championships. Prior to joining the ACC, Syracuse won three straight titles from 1988-90 and back-to-back crowns in 2008-09.
 
Freshman Connor Shellenberger and senior Matt Moore led UVA with four goals and two assists apiece. Shellenberger was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Jeff Conner added a hat trick for the Cavaliers, while Rode made 12 saves.
 
With 33 goals between the teams, the game matched the 1975 and 1983 title contests as the highest-scoring championship games in NCAA men’s lacrosse history.
 
The Cavaliers twice built leads of at least four goals, only to see the Terrapins come storming back each time. UVA scored six straight goals in the first half to take an 8-4 lead in the second quarter, but Maryland responded with three consecutive goals. UVA stopped the momentum swing on a Payton Cormier goal with 25 seconds left for a 9-7 halftime edge.
 
UVA stretched its lead to 16-11 on a Moore goal with 11:04 remaining in the game, but Maryland rattled off four straight goals over three-minute span to cut it to one with 3:57 remaining. Moore stopped the run with his fourth goal with 3:35 left for a 17-15 edge. Maryland’s Anthony DeMaio scored with 10 seconds left and Wierman won the ensuing faceoff and ran straight downfield and fired off a shot that Rode denied to finish off the dramatic win.
 
NCAA Championship Weekend Schedule
Saturday, May 29
NCAA Semifinals, East Hartford, Conn.
#4 Virginia 12, #1 North Carolina 11
#3 Maryland 14, #2 Duke 5
 
Monday, May 31
NCAA Championship, East Hartford, Conn.
#4 Virginia 17, #3 Maryland 16