During this weekend's chilly and rainy Saturday afternoon at University Hall Turf Field, the No. 4 Virginia men's lacrosse team started off just as cold as the weather.
Against a mediocre Drexel team, the Cavaliers (1-0) were unable to take a decisive lead in the first half, leading only 6-4 with two minutes left in the second quarter. Virginia, however, was able to turn its play around, scoring 13 of the game's next 17 goals on the way to a 19-8 victory over the Dragons (0-1) in both teams' season opener.
"It's a win, and we're pleased with that," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "I think we were all a little unhappy about how we came out of the locker room to start the game, but I was pleased that we were able to take the game over in the second half."
Senior midfielder A.J. Shannon led the team with a career-high of five goals and two assists.
"It was a good day shooting for me," Shannon said. "Our midfielders were all over their defense. They were slow to slide to us up top and if a team is going to do that, then we are going to make them pay."
Virginia's midfielders had little trouble against an unassertive Dragon defense, scoring 14 of the team's 19 goals. Senior Chris Rotelli contributed four goals while the third starting midfielder, senior Billy Glading, netted a pair.
"We expect our midfield to play like that," Starsia said. "We've got two sophomores and a freshman at the offensive end; you can't just turn that light on and play at an elite level. It takes a little time. But we are fortunate to have those guys in the midfield to pick up the slack for us before our attack gets up to speed."
The Cavaliers have a pair of pre-season All-Americans in their attacking core, including a first team selection in sophomore John Christmas, but their inexperience was evident Saturday. Sophomore attackman Joe Yevoli managed to tally a trio of goals, but Christmas only had one and highly touted freshman Matt Ward didn't score at all. The midfield, however, had little trouble compensating for the missed opportunities up front.
"We're used to carrying the weight," Shannon said. "A lot of the younger kids will slowly find their feet, it just takes awhile."
Virginia outshot the Dragons 63 to 29 and won 20 of 30 face offs. Still, Drexel was able to keep the game close throughout most of the first half.
Junior midfielder Yoni Cohen was able to dump an overhand shot past Virginia goalie Tillman Johnson with 4:15 left in the half to pull the Dragons within two goals. The Cavaliers quickly answered back, however, as Glading and Rotelli both worked their way past the Drexel defense to score a goal apiece just before the half, improving the Virginia lead to 8-4.
In the third quarter, Virginia scored two goals in the first five minutes, but Drexel answered back with a pair of their own. Drexel junior attackman Brendan Morgan's diving shot brought the score to 10-6 with 7:42 remaining in the period.
The score remained that way for most of the third quarter until Glading bounced a shot into the back of the net while being tripped up by the Drexel defense, increasing the Cavaliers' advantage to five.
Virginia then went on to score eight goals in the fourth quarter to crush any hopes of a Dragon comeback.
The Cavaliers head to the Carrier Dome Saturday to face defending national champion No. 1 Syracuse. The Orangemen defeated Virginia in the Final Four last season.
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