As the Virginia men's lacrosse team enters the final weekend of the regular season, it is poised to finally shake off the demons of last year's lackluster campaign.
The Cavaliers will complete their regular season with a grueling weekend with two games on back-to-back days. Saturday presents a match at No. 2 Duke and Sunday at home against No. 15 Denver. With a trip to the postseason all but assured, the games will give the Cavaliers another chance to prove they have regained a standing amongst the collegiate lacrosse elite.
The Saturday meeting against Duke will be a test the Cavaliers, as the regular season conference title is on the line. For Virginia, who won 15-9 last Saturday over North Carolina, the game offers an opportunity to end on a high note ahead of the upcoming ACC tournament.
"[Winning] the regular season ACC championship, [would] be a big win away, especially after [the March 26 loss at Johns] Hopkins," Cavalier midfielder Jack deVilliers said.
Even with the contest against Denver looming on the horizon, the Cavaliers are not looking past their difficult Blue Devils opponent.
"[Duke] has a really strong offense, and we're going to try to keep the ball away from their offense -- win ground balls, win face-offs," deVillers said. "It's a good test for us going into the ACC tournament, especially being a road game."
The Cavaliers still feel confident about their chances to pickup the tough ACC win away.
"They have a pretty good defense," attackman John Christmas said. "I think we just need to play our game. We like our match-ups defensively with those guys too. I think we're just going to have to go there and play hard, and hopefully we'll come out on top."
The Cavaliers (8-1) enter the weekend in what seems like near-perfect midseason form. Christmas won his latest accolade Monday -- a second consecutive ACC men's lacrosse player of the week award.
Christmas said his two-goal, three-assist effort over the Tar Heels was part of a personal effort to be more assertive on offense.
"I think I'm going into the games now with the mind set that, if I want to score or if I want to make a big play, I just have to go out there and do it," Christmas said. "Usually if I get on the board early it just kind of settles me down for the game."
The home match against Denver Sunday also will be special for the Cavaliers for an emotional reason, as they face the team for the first time since losing 9-7 in Denver in February 2004.
Last season's loss at Denver, part of a two-game road trip, contributed to a disappointing 1-4 start for the Cavalier squad. Virginia eventually ended the season just 5-8 overall and snapped an 11-year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Cavaliers still remember the frustration of last year's loss to Denver.
"I think a lot of people have this game circled on their calendars after last year," deVilliers said. "That was kind of a real tough loss. I think a lot of people are really excited to get after them and have a good showing against them."
Christmas, too, said he is ready for the chance at revenge.
"[Denver is] going to be a tough game because we're going to be coming off of Duke," he said. "But we're going to get after them."
Read More
No. 6 women’s squash falls to No. 5 Stanford in first match of the new year
By Peter Kratz | YesterdayThe Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in conference play after their first clash with the Cardinal.
Katie Grimes posts historic debut as women’s swimming and diving annihilates Virginia Tech
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoGrimes broke out as a new superstar for Coach Todd DeSorbo's squad.
Women’s basketball displays stingy defense, but falls short versus No. 14 Duke
By Xander Tilock | 3 days agoThe Cavaliers nearly conquered a ranked rival but could not generate consistent offense.
