BALTIMORE – Riley Cox's unassisted goal with 9:49 left in the third quarter tied Saturday's game at 9-9, but the University of Virginia scored the next three goals, and while Loyola University Maryland got back within one, the Cavaliers held on for a 15-12 win at Ridley Athletic Complex.
 
Cox's goal came less than a minute after Aidan Olmstead took a Peter Swindell skip pass and scored from 12 yards out on extra-man, and the pair of goals erased a previous 9-7 advantage by the third-ranked Cavaliers.
 
Neither No. 11 Loyola, nor Virginia scored for almost seven minutes until Matt Moore dodged from behind the goal and scored unassisted with 2:58 left in the stanza.
 
The Cavaliers (3-0 overall) got another goal with 46 ticks on the third-quarter clock, an unassisted strike by Payton Cormier, and Virginia added a third goal 19 seconds later as Moore scored again to make it 12-9 going into the final period.
 
Kevin Lindley, who led Loyola with four goals, scored just eight seconds into the fourth after the quarter's opening faceoff kicked back to him near the top of the box. He pulled the ground ball and ran unchecked to the goal where he dumped in his fourth of the day.
 
It was the second time in as many quarters that Lindley opened with an early goal. He did so in the third when he scored unassisted 35 seconds into the stanza.
 
Evan James then scored 41 seconds after Lindley's goal in the fourth, a goal that came in transition off an Aidan Olmstead assist after Matt Hughes caused a turnover.
 
James' goal, one of his career-high three, made it 12-11 Cavaliers with nearly a full quarter to play.
 
Connor Shellenberger tallied one for Virginia at 11:18 to give the Cavaliers a two-goal cushion, but Peter Swindell dodged on the side and scored at 7:38, pulling Loyola back within one, 13-12.
 
Moore and Cormier, however, would tack on goals at 5:21 and 4:34, respectively, while Virginia held Loyola off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.
 
Lindley's four goals led Loyola, while James matched him with four points. Olmstead had a goal and two assists, while Swindell and Seth Higgins each posted a goal and an assist.
 
Loyola built a 4-1 lead in the first quarter as Liam Bateman, Lindley and Higgins each scored during a 3-0 run that covered nearly eight minutes. Virginia, however, reeled off five in a row to start the second quarter, going up 6-4 on an Ian Laviano tally with 6:31 left before halftime.
 
The teams traded goals, and the Cavaliers led 7-5 before James netted his second of the quarter off with a one-timer off a Higgins feed 20 seconds before halftime.
 
Loyola had a 36-26 advantage in ground balls with Bailey Savio's five leading the way. Cam Wyers had four ground balls and two caused turnovers, and Hughes had three and two.
 
The Greyhounds remain at home for their next game, hosting the University of Utah on Saturday, February 27, in an 11:30 a.m. contest.