Basketball isn't the only sport with an intense Duke-Virginia rivalry. The men's lacrosse team has a heated history of its own against the Blue Devils. The Cavaliers travel to Durham tomorrow to face Duke in the regular season ACC finale for both squads.
The No. 6 Cavaliers (6-2) hope to gain a share of first place in the conference with a victory while the No. 12 Blue Devils (7-4) look to avoid a winless ACC campaign and hand Virginia its third loss in four games.
Tomorrow, the Cavaliers will return to Kl?kner where, in the last meeting between the two squads, a final minute goal by Terrance Kearney gave the Blue Devils a narrow one-goal victory over Virginia for the 2002 ACC tournament championship.
As much as last season's defeat may give the Cavaliers more incentive to win, it does not take much additional motivation to get a Virginia squad up for a game against its fiercest rival.
"We just want to beat Duke," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "I think for Virginia in all sports there's a special treat in beating Duke. I think it's just a natural sentiment for Wahoos around the world and we feel the same way in our locker room as well."
The Cavaliers have split their ACC matchups this season, losing to Maryland 8-7 on March 29 and defeating North Carolina 10-7 on April 5. Both games were held at Kl?kner Stadium.
The victory over the Tar Heels snapped a two-game Virginia skid and brought a return of offensive efficiency for the Cavaliers.
In the two defeats, Virginia scored only seven goals in each game and averaged only one score in the first half. Against North Carolina, the Cavaliers regained their scoring touch, netting four first quarter goals and scoring 10 overall.
The win came at an important time for the Cavaliers, who are closing in on the playoffs.
"It's sort of a grind-it-out time of the year," Starsia said. "We need to continue to be attentive and alert in practice and continue to get better, and I certainly thought the performance last weekend was better than the two weeks prior."
Junior goalie Tillman Johnson played outstanding for the Cavaliers against the Tar Heels, making 14 saves and stopping 67 percent of North Carolina's shots. Johnson's performance garnered him ACC Player of the Week honors.
The Duke offense should give Johnson no rest on Saturday. The Blue Devils have scored 13 or more goals four times this season.
Although Duke struggled in conference play, facing the chance of finishing ACC play without a win could stimulate the Blue Devils' performance.
"Duke has their backs against the wall," senior midfielder A.J. Shannon said. "And Duke with their backs to the wall plays with a little more urgency and can be a little scary at times. We definitely can't take this team lightly."
The Blue Devils biggest strength may be their faceoff success. Kevin Cassese and Will McDonald have split the duties inside of the circle for Duke and have combined to win an impressive 58 percent of draws. Virginia has a top faceoff man of its own in sophomore Jack deVilliers, who holds a 59.5 winning percentage.
There may not be weeklong campouts or Dick Vitale rants, but with the rivalry between Duke and Virginia as hot as ever and ACC tournament seeding on the line, the one thing that will not be missing from tomorrow afternoon's game is intensity.
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