Charles Nailen/The Hoya Senior attack Hilary Polk-Williams fights for possession of the ball. She and the Georgetown offense were held to 38 percent scoring.

The Georgetown women’s lacrosse team had high hopes coming into Sunday’s second-round game against University of Virginia. It faced incredible pressure – a win would send the team to the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the third consecutive season. A loss would send it packing, denied yet another National Championship.

From the opening draw it was all Cavaliers, shutting down the Hoya offense while harnessing firepower of their own on the way to a 16-9 victory.

“We couldn’t get in the rhythm,” head coach Kim Simons said. “I felt like mentally we weren’t ready to compete at the level we needed to defeat Virginia.”

Georgetown trailed the entire game, with few signs of mounting a comeback. Virginia, on the other hand, mounted impressive numbers in the victory. Senior midfielder Lauren Aumiller tied a NCAA record with eight goals, while junior goaltender Andrea Pfeiffer held off a season high 12 shots from the Georgetown offensive effort. Georgetown’s best efforts resulted in a four-goal output from senior attack Wick Stanwick and a tough defensive presence from freshman goaltender Dosha Stright, who stopped eight of 19 shot attempts.

Virginia reeled off five straight goals at the outset and the Hoyas immediately faced an uphill battle. Aumiller contributed two to Virginia’s opening streak. Finally, Stanwick found the back of the net for Georgetown, converting a free-position shot. The goal put the Hoyas on the board with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half of play. The Cavaliers did not let up, however, and added to their lead with two tallies of their own. Only 78 ticks remained on the clock when senior midfielder Liz Ryan scored for Georgetown. Junior midfielder Anouk Peters followed her lead shortly thereafter. Despite the effort, Virginia still held a 7-3 lead at the break.

The second half was more of the same. Aumiller continued to dominate for the Cavaliers while junior midfielder Gloria Lozano contributed to the Hoya effort. The lead was still four after each team chalked one up, when Virginia went on a 10-minute scoring tear. By the time it was over, Aumiller had put away three consecutive goals and the Cavs led 14-4.

The Hoyas attempted to mount a comeback with only 13 minutes left. Two Stanwick goals, separated by an assist to junior midfielder Lauryn Bernier, narrowed the margin to seven. It was too little too late for the Hoyas, however, and all they could do was trade goals with Virginia for the final five minutes, as their National Championship hopes slipped away.

“I was pretty disappointed,” Simons said. “It was one of the worst performances the Georgetown lacrosse team has had in several years . in all honesty.”

Virginia held the upper hand in every statistical category except draws. The Cavaliers outshot Georgetown, caused more turnovers and picked up more groundballs. Virginia took 31 shots to Georgetown’s 24. Seven Cavaliers contributed goals, while Georgetown had six different scorers, including freshman midfielder Paige Andrews who recorded the Hoyas’ last goal of their season with only nine seconds of play left.

Stright made four clutch saves for the Hoyas in the final stretch, and allowed 11 goals overall while making eight saves in 51 minutes. Sophomore goalie Sarah Robinson spent nine minutes in the cage, recording only two saves while letting by five Virginia shots.

Virginia will face Maryland in the Final Four. The Terps won seven consecutive National Championships before Princeton took last season’s crown. On the other side of the bracket, Princeton faces top-seeded Loyola after knocking off would-be Cinderella Ohio State.

“We didn’t even come close to our potential, which was very frustrating,” Simons added. “Especially for our seniors.”