The defending national champion Virginia men's lacrosse team opened its regular season Saturday against Drexel in Haverford, Pa. The Cavaliers used a balanced offensive attack and solid defense to defeat the Dragons, 15-4.
"We're happy to get the win certainly," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "I thought it looked a little bit like the first [preseason] game with a lot of new people on the field, so there were times when we weren't as sharp as we'll need to be when we get on, but that's why you have a first game. There was some good and bad, but we're certainly happy to get a win and prepare for the next one."
Junior attacker John Christmas got the scoring started for the Cavaliers at 10:09 in the first quarter, whipping a shot from the left side past Drexel goaltender Ryan Harney for a 1-0 lead.
Led by sophomore attacker Matt Ward, who notched two goals and an assist, 10 other players also scored goals for Virginia.
"On my first [goal], [Christmas] made a good dodge," Ward said. "I just popped out in the crease and happened to find the back of the net. On the second one it was Joe [Yevoli] with a great hustle play in just setting it up. Today I had two assisted goals, so I've got to give credit to the guys who got me the ball."
Junior midfielders Nathan Kenney and Ted Lamade also added two goals each for the Cavaliers, and sophomore midfielder Kyle Dixon contributed two goals and an assist.
Also scoring for Virginia against Drexel were Matt Poskay, Newton Gentry, Mike Abbott, Justin Mullen and Hunter Kass. Yevoli tallied a goal in addition to his assist on the Ward score.
The Virginia offense was well-supported by the defense, led by senior Brett Hughes and goalkeeper Tillman Johnson. Johnson allowed only two goals on seven shots in 46:34 before being replaced by red-shirt junior Ryan Thompson.
The Dragons tried to settle the tempo early on, slowly passing the ball around the perimeter looking for a shot and trying to test the Virginia defense. But the defense remained unyielding, not allowing a Drexel goal until early in the second quarter.
"Coaches prepare us every week that [defense] is a matter of patience," Hughes said. "We go out there and pressure them, but also practice patience and don't try to do too much but let the game come to us."
Following last Sunday's preseason loss to Georgetown, the Cavaliers came out ready to play on Saturday.
Hughs and Ward attributed the Georgetown loss to unenthusiastic play in both the game and in prior practices and said the team practiced with increased intensity after the defeat.
"Coaches had been telling us the week before [Georgetown] that our practices were just flat," Ward said. "And you practice like you play, so we made a point to come out this whole week and practice hard. Everything was full speed and everyone was pumped for practice, and it translated over into the game."
The Cavaliers next travel to Colorado this weekend for contests at Air Force and Denver.
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