After six years, Brett Hughes finally has emerged out of Mark Koontz's shadow.
The junior defenseman is Virginia's top defender, drawing the opposition's top scorer week in and week out and earning a reputation as one of the top defenders in the country. But before this year, Hughes wasn't even the best college lacrosse defenseman from his hometown.
That honor belonged to first team All-American Koontz, who is Hughes' elder by two years. The two defensemen played on the same high school team in Upper Arlington, Ohio before coming to Virginia.
Koontz was a four-year starter for the Cavaliers and had a major influence on Hughes during their years as teammates.
"He's had so much success, I always paid attention to that and tried to learn as much as I could from him," Hughes said. "I definitely paid attention to what he did right and what his strengths were to see if I could put it into my game."
With Koontz graduated, this year became Hughes' time to shine as Virginia's number one defenseman. He entered the season as a second-team All-American and wasted little time proving his rightful place among the nation's elite defensemen.
The Cavaliers traveled to Syracuse in their second game of this season, trying to beat the Orangemen for the first time since the 1999 national championship game. Hughes' assignment was attackman Michael Powell, a notoriously dangerous scorer who was voted Attackman of the Year the past two seasons.
Hughes proved to be up for the task. He held Powell to no goals and only two assists in Virginia's narrow 16-15 win. It was only the fourth time in Powell's career he had failed to score a goal.
"I took a lot of time getting ready and studying him in particular," Hughes said. "There was a lot of film study and a lot of listening to what my team had to say to me. It felt good. We had to win that game and taking him out of the equation was a big part of that."
Hughes has not let up since. He leads a defense that has remained consistently strong throughout the season, giving up eight or fewer goals in every game since the shootout in Syracuse.
As a defenseman, Hughes' impact on the game cannot be represented easily on a stat sheet, but he still has managed to earn a reputation for his focused and precise play.
"He brings a lot of intensity to the game," senior midfielder A.J. Shannon said. "Every practice, every play, he's always busting his butt. He makes big hits out there and he's just elevated his game to a whole new level this year."
Koontz left some big shoes for Hughes to fill when he left last year, but Hughes welcomed the chance to show what he can do without playing second fiddle to his former high school teammate.
"It's nice to be out of his shadow, Hughes said. "But, I miss playing with him. Our defense this year is great, but I don't think you ever want a kid like Mark Koontz to leave your program."
In taking his place this season, Hughes has shown the Cavaliers that they have little reason to get too choked up about the loss.
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