Coming off their first loss of the year, the Virginia men's lacrosse team hosts No. 7 Maryland at Klockner Saturday. The Terps are winners of five of their first six games, and present a formidable opponent for Virginia in their ACC opener.
The Cavaliers (4-1, 0-0 ACC) coordinated a furious second half rally after being shut out in the first half of their visit to Johns Hopkins on Saturday. Virginia lost the game as a desperation heave from freshman attackman Matt Ward found only the side of the net in the waning moments of the 8-7 defeat. The Blue Jays usurped the top Virginia's top spot with the victory, sending the Cavaliers down a notch to No. 2 in the latest USILA/STX Coaches' Poll.
Maryland (5-1, 1-1) failed to capitalize on a weekend of tough match-ups across the country by losing to No. 13 North Carolina, 10-6, in College Park on Saturday. The Terps entered the game against the Tar Heels ranked second and one of the final undefeated teams in the league. They likely would have gained the No. 1 ranking had they not faltered in the face of UNC's suffocating goalie play. Sophomore Paul Spellman frustrated Terrapin players all game, lodging a career-high 25 saves.
The shakeup in the top ten was substantial after a weekend that also featured No. 3 Syracuse falling to No. 7 Princeton and No. 5 Georgetown prevailing over No. 8 Duke in overtime. Maryland's five spot drop was the biggest in the polls, while Princeton soared from seventh to third after holding two-time national attackman of the year and reigning national player of the year Michael Powell to zero points for the first time in his career in their 11-10 thriller over Syracuse.
The value of being ranked in the top four in lacrosse is akin to being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. In reality, there is only one "best team in the nation," but the selection committee gives the advantage to the top four --- a first round bye. Once the postseason begins, all regular season accolades are thrown out the window, as the 12 invitees all take their shot at the title. The best teams in the country taking turns beating one another as the regular season churns on, lessening what it means to be the absolute highest-ranked team heading into the tournament.
"The top four teams are always going to rotate," freshman attackman Matt Ward said. "That's what makes the NCAA tournament so great."
While the first loss for a top-ranked team inevitably is going to create news, Virginia should have no problem recovering from the defeat in Baltimore. The Cavaliers have showcased their elite status all season long, outscoring their opponent per half ten times in six games.
"With the schedule we play, we can't get too high or too low," coach Dom Starsia said of his team's brutal regular season lineup. "We've got a mature group of players, so [coming off a loss] shouldn't be too much of a problem."
The attack trio of Ward, sophomore Joe Yevoli and fellow sophomore John Christmas brought Virginia back into the Hopkins game after going into the locker room facing a 5-0 deficit. Ward scored the goal that broke the ice for the Cavaliers, who saw two scores apiece from Yevoli and Christmas bring the gap to two heading into the final period.
Senior midfielder Chris Rotelli took over the offensive load in the fourth quarter, but his two goals were not enough as the Blue Jay offense received all the insurance it would need from bench player Joe McDermott's second goal of the season with 8:07 remaining.
With Maryland snapping back from their disappointment against the Tar Heels with a 18-9 shellacking of Butler on Tuesday, Virginia opens conference play against the main contender to challenge them for the ACC title.
Read More
ISTVAN: Tony Bennett left Virginia in a hole
By Ben Istvan | 5 hours agoHis decision to retire doomed this men's basketball season.
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | 2 days agoOne common trait that stands out with this most recent batch of transfers is size.
