Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team knew it would be in the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers just didn’t know they’d be facing off against familiar ACC foe North Carolina. 

The No. 5 Cavs dismantled a second-straight Top 20 opponent Wednesday night in a 16-3 win over No. 12 George Mason in UVa’s regular season finale. The Cavaliers played 42 minutes of shutout lacrosse from the opening draw until almost midway through the second half, when the Patriots finally broke through with just 18 minutes to play.

As a sophomore, Ashley McCulloch finished third among Virginia players in points and set a season record for assists by a Cavalier. But with Jess Wasilewski running the show, it was apparent that the Cavalier offense wasn’t yet McCulloch’s to lead.

Virginia torched Johns Hopkins early and buried six of its first eight shots en route to a 17-6 victory over the Blue Jays.