With 52 seconds remaining, junior attacker Madison Alaimo did not have a stick.
Moments earlier, No. 10 Syracuse called a timeout to settle its nerves, nursing a precarious one-goal lead. As the whistle blew to resume play, Alaimo provided the defining image of No. 19 Virginia women’s lacrosse’s 50th-anniversary celebration.
In a blur of pressure, the attacker had her stick smacked from her hands. Yet she tracked the ball with predatory focus. As both teams raced for the rolling ball, she snatched the possession back, sending a jolt of electricity through the crowd that rivaled the cheers usually reserved for intense goals…