DENVER, Colo. -- The view toward the horizon was of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, which appeared to be a better locale for the Winter Olympics than for lacrosse, a sport of the eastern seaboard.
After being upset twice in just over 24 hours, the message sent to No. 1 Virginia was loud and clear: Lacrosse in the Midwest is here to stay. The defending champion Cavaliers fell to No. 23 Denver yesterday, 9-7, and unranked Air Force Saturday, 7-6.
Saturday's defeat marked the first time Virginia had scored fewer than seven goals since April 7, 2001, and their first loss to an unranked team since April 11, 1987.
In addition to the extra tally in the loss column, Virginia suffered a defeat of even greater magnitude -- a severe injury to All-American defenseman Brett Hughes.
Hughes collapsed on the field after a facemask-to-facemask collision with Pioneer midfielder Jeff Biggs. As Hughes lay on the turf, a defibrillator was brought from the Virginia sideline while emergency personnel rushed to the field. For more than 20 minutes, the crowd remained silent as the remainder of the Cavaliers gathered at midfield for a team prayer and meeting. Hughes -- who has never missed a start at Virginia -- was seen moving his legs and fingers, but was carried off the field on a stretcher as the crowd respectfully cheered. When he departed, his teammates ran over to show support for their captain and fallen comrade.
"He's a wonderful kid, and when something like that happens, that is just unsettling for everybody," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "He's a leader, and to lose one in the middle of the defense like that obviously hurt us."
Throughout the contest against Air Force, both teams appeared stagnant on offense and defense. Despite impressive play from Cavalier attackman Matt Ward, who led all scorers with three goals and one assist, Air Force exploded for a scoring run of four consecutive goals in the third quarter to catapult back into the game, a lead which they would never relinquish.
"We tried to prepare to play their best guys," Air Force coach Fred Acee said. "I think that the guys focused on that, and they did a nice job."
Sunday against the Denver Pioneers, Virginia was defeated 9-7 for their second loss in two days and was again remarkably inconsistent.
The star for Denver Sunday afternoon was goalie Brian Sanders, who finished with 17 saves, including four crucial stops in a three-minute period near the end of the fourth quarter. In addition, midfielder Scott Davidson had three goals and one assist to lead the Pioneer offense.
For Virginia, the brightest spot in a struggling offense was junior attackman John Christmas, who compiled three goals and one assist, including an impressive unassisted goal immediately after the resumption of play following Hughes's injury. Fellow attackman Matt Ward added three points for the Cavaliers -- one goal and two assists -- on eight shots. The Cavalier offense, however, was plagued with 18 of the team's 21 turnovers. Virginia also had four penalties for a total of three minutes in the box.
The Cavaliers departed the light air of the mountains with an overall record of 0-2 -- a particularly disappointing exploration of western talent. Virginia's vulnerability against both Denver and Air Force was a constant reminder that as the national champions, you are circled on every opponent's schedule. Virginia was able to improve each week to climax in the NCAA tournament, but this year is vastly different -- word has spread of this year's Cavalier talent, and every game is a test to once again prove their potential.
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