Virginia wasn’t at full strength in its opening victory over Towson, but finding ways to score wasn’t a problem for the Cavaliers.

The top three contributors were a player who entered the transfer portal last year but opted to stay at Virginia (Payton Cormier), a redshirt-freshman who was one of the most touted signees in his class (Connor Shellenberger) and a graduate transfer from Merrimack who was a two-time Division II player of the year (Charlie Bertrand).

They combined for 14 goals and six assists, and each had at least six points in the 20-11 rout.

“Even when the knowns come back, can we score more goals? I don’t know,” coach Lars Tiffany said. “There’s still only one ball out there. It’s a great dilemma to have. Is there enough playing time for all the offensive threats we’re fortunate to have here in Charlottesville?”

To be sure, those known players will be heard from before long. Matt Moore was unavailable to play, while veterans Dox Aitken (who just returned from a semester at Villanova and a brief stint as a college football player) and Ian Laviano combined to go scoreless on five shots. A year ago, those three combined for 39 goals and 20 assists in six games. In 2019, they were the top three goal scorers on a national title team.

“We have to bring Dox back slowly,” Tiffany said. “He got some time, and he’ll play more and more each weekend moving forward. And then Ian Laviano is running around, and he’s getting his shots. They just didn’t fall. We’re fortunate to have so much talent, but when everyone is full go, it’s not like we get to play with eight guys. We have to balance this, and recognizing that, it’s about people understanding their role.”

Terps not settled at goalie

Maryland hadn’t made an in-season starting goalie switch in John Tillman’s first nine seasons in College Park — at least until he turned to freshman Logan McNaney four games into the abbreviated 2020 season.

McNaney got the nod as a true freshman in victories over Notre Dame and Albany, and his even-keel approach impressed coaches and teammates. At the same time, it was only two games, leaving Tillman with a modest track record at the college level to assess.

So the Terrapins find themselves with at least some questions about who will start in the cage in their Feb. 20 opener against Michigan. It could be McNaney. It might be Chris Brandau, the Georgetown transfer who initially won the job last season. And senior Drew Morris, who has logged 15:40 in seven career games off the bench, is in the mix.

Tillman said Morris is playing as well as he ever has at Maryland, and Brandau is more settled at his new school than a year ago.

“I think we have some good options,” Tillman said. “It makes for a very difficult decision, but we all sleep better at night knowing that whoever goes in there is going to do a really good job. But I do think those would be the three main guys. Logan’s done nothing to take away his ability to get that spot, but the other guys are doing a terrific job at making our decision harder.”

THIS WEEK IN NUMBERS

201

John Danowski has earned 201 coaching victories at Duke and crossed the 200-win plateau with Friday’s season-opening defeat of Denver. Danowski is one of four active Division I coaches with at least 200 victories at his current school, joining Notre Dame’s Kevin Corrigan (305), Syracuse’s John Desko (258) and Massachusetts’ Greg Cannella (221).

23

North Carolina has won 23 consecutive season openers, a streak it extended with a 24-13 rout of Denver on Sunday. The Tar Heels last dropped a season opener in 1998.

.875

Mercer faceoff specialist Ashton Wood has won 87.5 percent of his attempts in the Bears’ first two games, going a combined 35 of 40 at the X against Bellarmine and Lenoir-Rhyne. Wood, who ranked third in Division I in faceoff percentage last season at .695, also has 21 ground balls in the early going.